Chuck Vs The Mash-up
by Amelia Wolfson
Summary: What would happen if Chuck and Sarah's first meeting had been as high school students? The first four chapters follows vs. The Band Nerds then diverges with an intersected twist.
1. Chapter 1

Chuck's head pounded as he sat behind the Nerd Herd desk wondering how his life had come to this. True, he'd had some setbacks when his parents left, but he and Ellie had done well for themselves. Both earned scholarships to the schools of their choice, and he was one of the top students in his Engineering program at Stanford until his best friend and roommate framed him for cheating and then slept with his girlfriend. The same girlfriend Chuck had been planning to propose to, at least the jeweler had a 30-day return policy and he was able to get his money back on the ring.

His fall from grace had been instant and humiliating. He still remembered the sound of Ellie's voice when he called to tell her he was coming home, the sad but supportive face of his long-time best friend, Morgan, when he told him what had happened. What was worse was having to crawl back to the BuyMore and beg Big Mike for a job and seeing the look of disappointment on the older man's face after he had supported and encouraged Chuck's dreams of being an engineer back when he was still a green shirt in Encino.

To this day, Chuck still didn't understand what he could have possibly done to have had this much bad karma come his way. If it wasn't bad enough, the hits kept coming, 'his' birthday party the previous night was nothing more than a 'please someone hook up with my poor, sad brother' party, just as most of the social gatherings his sister had held in recent years had been. Then the most shocking, getting that email from Bryce who, somehow, had remembered his birthday. Between the beers he'd drank at the party, and Morgan spiking the punch, he must have passed out while reading Bryce's email, because he had woken up on the floor with the world's worst hangover. His head had never hurt this much, even after his heaviest drinking days in college, this headache of his was even causing auditory and visual hallucinations, was that even possible with a hangover?

It wasn't helping at all that Big Mike had him hunting down a new Prism Express for the store and BuyMore Corporate had him on hold. He had been thumbing through repair files trying to figure out which were the priority cases when he saw Morgan come and lean against the desk, looking for a distraction. Chuck, trying to not encourage this behavior, kept waiting for him to move along as he continued to look through the files on his desk.

"Stop the presses!" He heard his little buddy gasp, "Who's that? Vicky Vale!"

"Vicky Vale a-Vic-a Vicky Vale…" Chuck sang to himself until he caught sight of a gorgeous blond woman with eyes like he hadn't seen in much too long. His heart started to pound in his chest as he dropped his phone in shock.

"I hope I'm not interrupting something," The woman smiled up at him.

"Erm, it's from Batman…" He tried to explain while simultaneously trying to place her. There was just something so familiar about the woman in front of him.

"And that makes it better?" The woman teased, her eyes sparkling with good humor.

"Hi," Morgan smiled brightly at her as his eyes drifted up and down her body, causing Chuck's fists to clench at his side, his protective instincts flaring up as he tried to not punch his best friend for his behavior toward this mystery woman. "I'm Morgan, and this here is Chuck."

"Wow, I didn't know people named their kids Chuck anymore," She responded, the name fitting the tall man in front of her, but at the same time another, similar name kept springing to mind. She tamped down the urge and turned to the shorter of the two men, "Or Morgan for that matter."

"Yeah, well my parents were sadists," Chuck joked, "And his carnival freaks found him in a dumpster."

"But they raised me as one of their own," Morgan completed the joke by rote, it was clear the pair had done this routine before. It made her smile as their banter seemed very familiar to her, but she couldn't give it any more thought when she realized the taller man, Chuck was asking her something.

"So, what can I help you with…" He started.

"Sarah," She supplied, with a warm smile, as she slid a flip phone across the desk, "I just bought that thing and it keeps turning off on me randomly."

"Ah, yes, the Intelicell," Chuck picked up the device and popped the back off, using his mouth to hold on to it by the edge as he pulled out a screw driver and talked around the backing, "They have this little screw in the back that likes to come loose, all you gotta do is give it a few quick turns and…" He popped the back onto the phone again and handed it over as it powered up, "Good as new."

"Wow, you geeks are good," Sarah grinned up at him.

"Oh, well, uh, nerds, actually, we prefer nerds," Chuck stammered, echoed slightly by the shorter man, "You know, Nerd Herd and…" he pointed to the sign above his head. The wording bringing back a long-forgotten memory of a boy on a beach, breeze ruffling his too-long curls, his smile warming her to the tips of her toes. Before she could put too much thought into it, a frazzled man came running up to the desk, a little girl in a leotard in tow.

Chuck listened to the man's rambling, trying to calm him down as he attempted to diagnose the problem before him. Once the issue was found, he quickly went into action, making it right to preserve this moment in the little girl's life. He even encouraged her in that sweet way he had when the girl had doubts.

"Oh Charlie," Sarah murmured to herself, recognition washing over her as she watched him, memories from that weekend in San Diego coming back to her, "You wonderful, sweet man, you never changed." The moment the words came from her mouth she realized she couldn't go through with her mission, she was already compromised.

She knew she should just turn around and leave, but something in her wanted him to be able to find her. She had always regretted how things had ended between them, a few short months after they had met and went their separate ways, her father's crimes finally caught up to him resulting in his arrest. It was that same day that Director Graham offered her a job with the CIA, fast tracked her high school education and got her placed at Harvard in the linguistics program as he soon found she had a talent for languages. She just wished she could have called Charlie one last time to tell him what was going on or at least that she was going away, she could almost imagine how much it had hurt him to hear her number was disconnected. It was probably the same pain she felt for months and years after, to this day their brief two-day romance was the truest relationship she'd ever had.

Even her two-year long fling with Bryce had been nothing but convenience and sex. She smiled to herself remembering the moments she'd had to bite her tongue to keep from calling out Charlie's name in bed. Even though they had never been anywhere near taking that kind of step, she knew that if their relationship had been able to continue and they'd decided to go further, it would have been more than just sex. It was still him she fantasized about, even if his face had become fuzzy in her mind's eye over the years. Looking over at the man who stood, a broad smile on his face as he watched the young ballerina perform her routine, she knew she was not likely to forget his face ever again, even if this was the last time she would ever see him. It only took a split second for her to make the decision. She grabbed a pen and a business card from the desk, quickly jotting down her phone number and leaving it behind like a paper clad glass slipper before she turned and left the building, not turning back… more than twice… as she made her exit.

To say Chuck was disappointed when he turned back to the desk after helping the ballerina and her well-meaning but idiotic father to find Sarah gone, would be an understatement. There was just something about her that was so familiar to him. He hadn't seen beauty like hers in years, not even Jill, who he had once planned to marry, was as beautiful as Sarah. He rolled the name around in his mouth, but it still didn't seem right to him, sure it suited her as she looked like a princess straight out of the storybooks his mom used to read him as a kid, but there was this niggling feeling that it wasn't really her name.

"Dude!" Morgan called from where he was standing by the Nerd Herd desk, waiving a small bit of paper, "She left you her number!" Chuck rolled his eyes as he watched his friend smell the card before handing it to him when he'd returned to the desk. "So, are you gonna call her?"

"Not today, Morgan," Chuck shook his head, "I've been having a really weird day, my head is still pounding, and calling her a scant 10 minutes after she left her contact information screams 'desperate' louder than pretty much anything else. I'll call her tomorrow, give her a chance to realize what she's done and make her escape."

A few hours later, Chuck was heading home, Morgan in tow. Apparently in addition to crashing the display sample Prism Express at the store, his best friend had managed to crash his own computer with the porn virus that was circulating right now. Opening his front door, his day went from weird to worse when he walked in to find a figure, clad head to toe in black, carrying the tower for his computer. The thing had crashed, and he had been hoping to work on it that night to figure out what went wrong, he begged the person in black to take anything else, but to leave the computer tower. Morgan, however, went into attack mode right away, causing the figure to go into a fighting stance as Morgan began throwing things at the intruder. The items were quickly deflected, hitting Chuck in some rather sensitive places as Morgan encouraged him to fight back making Chuck give him stink eye as he tried to hobble into the room only to be kicked to the floor by the intruder followed close by Morgan being thrown on top of him tip to tail style. Before the intruder could go back for the tower, the shelf that it had been set on collapsed and fell to the floor obliterating the tower and the hard drive within.

The next day just added to the weirdness that had become his life. Chuck had gone over to Large Mart to replace the door locks for the apartment when he spotted a man, who he'd instantly recognized as a Serbian demolitions expert, despite never seeing the man before in his life. He tried to make a quick getaway and could have sworn the man was following him around the store, but by the time he could find an employee to report the siting to, the man was across the store, checking out and laughing with the cashier.

Sarah had once again changed her mind about whether or not to get involved in this mission. She knew that Chuck wasn't the kind of person to steal government secrets, there was no way he could have been in cahoots with Bryce. Even if she didn't know Charlie, or Chuck as he seemed to go by with his friends and coworkers, the lack of a backup drive or secondary hard drive proved that he had no prior knowledge of Bryce's plans and she told Graham as much. Graham promptly informed her that her mission was over and that the intersect was no longer her problem. The NSA was taking over and sending Major Casey to handle the case. She felt her protective instincts rise as she begged for more time to try to find a solution, Graham informed her that she had twelve hours but that she would be going in without any support or resources. Reluctantly, she accepted the terms and went into the BuyMore once more.

With a nervous sigh, Chuck headed back across the plaza to the BuyMore, hoping that if he got his mind back on work, he could forget everything that had been happening lately. It didn't help that his mind was working on overdrive and still hurt like hell. He groaned and laid his head on his arms, which were crossed in front of him on the desk.

"I'm losing my mind!" He kept repeating as he lightly hit his head on his forearms. When he heard a ding from the service bell, he assumed it was Morgan, and reached over to quiet the ringing that was making his splitting headache even worse. "Not now Morgan," He groaned then realized the hand beneath his was too delicate and smooth to be that of his best friend. He looked up and saw the woman from before.

"Jenny!" He saw the woman's eyes widen before he caught the slip, "Erm, sorry, talk about blast from the past, I meant Sarah. Because Sarah is you, Sarah is your name…o"

"Chuck, is there someplace we can talk privately?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "It's important."

"Yeah, um, sure," Chuck looked around and waved over Anna, one of the other nerd herders, to watch the desk. He remembered the day she had been hired; Morgan practically shit a brick when he realized it was the same Anna he had lusted after at that band competition their senior year of high school. "I'm not feeling too great, I'm gonna head home. You got the con."

"Aye, aye, Chuckles," Anna gave him a fingertip salute.

"Thanks," Chuck nodded and stepped out from behind the desk, joining Sarah by the entrance, "I know a place that's not too far away. Do you have a car? Because I can only take the herder out if I'm on call, which I'm not tonight."

"Sure, we can take my car," She hit the button on her remote, causing the alarm system on the Porsche to chirp twice as it disengaged.

"Holy shit," Chuck murmured, "I am in the wrong line of work, what is it that you do and how can I get in on it?"

"Get in the car, Chuck," Sarah ordered, opening the driver side door and waiting for him to get into the passenger seat before climbing in herself.

"Just head to the Malibu Pier," Chuck instructed, "There are a few quieter places off the beaten path down there that will probably serve our purposes."

"I should have known," Sarah muttered under her breath with a small chuckle as she put the car into gear and pealed out of the plaza and onto the highway, throwing Chuck back in his seat where he hung on for dear life. It didn't take long, at the breakneck speed Sarah enjoyed, to arrive at their destination. "Where to now?"

"Follow me," Chuck held out his hand to her, the gesture almost second nature to them both as she slid her hand into his. Both glanced up at each other as the familiar spark ran up both their arms at the contact. Chuck shook his head to clear it and began to guide her down a pathway which led to a small alcove that not many people knew of just beyond the pier.

They settled in the sand and watched the waves for a while before Sarah finally spoke. "Chuck, what was that you called me back at the store?"

"Jenny, I think," Chuck groaned, brushing his hand through his curls, nervously. "I looked up and I saw your eyes and you reminded me of someone I used to know. We shared a brief… thing, and I thought there was a real connection there, but like any good thing in my life she just… vanished. But you don't want to hear about that."

"Oh, Charlie," She shook her head, with a sad smile. Chuck's head shot up to look at her, eyes wide.

"Jenny?" He gasped, disbelievingly.

Sarah just nodded, "It wasn't my choice. I felt it too, but things went sideways, and I had to go. They wouldn't even let me call you to say goodbye. I am so, so, sorr…" Her words were cut off by Chuck lunging at her and kissing her until neither of them had any breath left.

"I've missed you," He whispered, pulling away slightly, his hands still on her cheeks, "God, I don't know how it is even possible, but you have gotten even more beautiful in the past 9 years."

"Yeah, well I lost the braces, learned how to style my hair," She joked.

"No, it's something more," He shook his head, "Like you finally found your purpose for being here, your true identity."

"How do you…" She started then shook her head to get back on track, "Chuck."

"Please, call me Charlie," Chuck pleaded with her, "Everyone else calls me Chuck, but with you, for you, I am Charlie."

"Alright, Charlie," She gave him a small smile, which he returned, "This is hard…" She sighed trying to find a way to do this, "How well do you know Bryce Larkin?"

Chuck's eyes narrowed at the name, and all joy faded from his face, "He was my roommate in college. How do _you_ know Bryce?"

"We worked together at the C.I.A.," Sarah explained.

"C.I.A.?" Chuck's eyes widened, "You're telling me that Bryce Larkin from Connecticut is a spy?"

"Yes, a rogue spy," Sarah acknowledged, "Has he tried to contact you at all in the past few days?"

"I haven't heard from Bryce since…" Chuck thought, "No, wait, he sent me an email on my birthday."

"Did you open it?" Sarah urged him to continue.

"Yeah, it was a line from a game we programmed in college…" Chuck stammered, "I had to type in the correct response to open it, when I did, I saw all these pictures…"

"Does your computer have a back-up?" She pressed, "Anything the file could be saved to?"

"No, it died last week, and I hadn't gotten around to repairing it," Chuck shook his head, "And someone broke into the house the other day and tried to steal my tower, but it fell and shattered beyond repair."

"I'm sorry about that," Sarah gave him a sympathetic look, "I really thought that shelf looked sturdier than it was."

"That was you?!" Chuck looked at her in amazement.

"Yeah," Sarah nodded, "Sorry about how I left you and Morgan, I'd had a really crappy day and I needed something to make me laugh."

"I'm so glad we could entertain you," Chuck replied dryly, "Why are you so interested in an email that some guy I knew from college sent me, Jenny?"

"Charlie, those pictures you saw were encoded with secrets," Sarah explained, "Government secrets, if you saw them then you know them."

"Secrets?" Chuck gasped, "But there were thousands of them. Wait, I've been getting these intuitive flashes the last couple days, things I shouldn't even know..."

Sarah watched as Chuck paled, "What? What is it?" Chuck's mouth opened and closed a few more times as if he was searching for words, "Charlie, talk to me."

"They're gonna kill him!" Chuck gasped then looked at Sarah, "Jenny, they're gonna kill him!"

"Kill who?" Sarah urged him on, "Whose gonna be killed?"

"Stanfield, you know the NATO guy," Chuck supplied, "It's all making sense now," He murmured as he began to break down all the information and analyze it, "There was a Serbian demolitions expert at Large Mart today, he was sent to interrupt the Security Conference that Stanfield is speaking at tonight at the Grand Seville. He's going to set off a bomb and kill everyone there."

"Oh my God," Sarah stood, "When is the bomb supposed to go off? Do we have time to stop it?"

"I, erm," Chuck looked at his watch, "We have an hour, two tops."

"Then let's go," Sarah grabbed his hand and dragged him back to the car.

"Jenny, what are you doing?" Chuck asked, a little panicked, "Where are we going?"

"We're going to go try to stop the bomb," She started pressing buttons on her console.

"Stop the… What?!" Chuck demanded, "Stop the bomb? Jenny are you crazy? Do you know how to stop a bomb, 'cause I don't!"

"We have to at least try, or hundreds if not thousands of people are gonna get hurt or worse," Sarah countered, hitting one last button. The sound of ringing came through the speakers.

"Graham," Came the male voice.

"This is Walker," Sarah reported, "Larkin sent the program by email to Mr. Bartowski, who opened it and accidentally downloaded the files into himself. There is no back up, but he is able to access the information. To that point, Mr. Bartowski just brought to my attention an assassination plot against General Stanfield that we are presently on our way to try to prevent. I don't have a way to get a hold of Casey right now, but if what you said earlier is true, his team might be in a better position to stop it."

"I will contact Beckman and have her redirect Casey's team," The man confirmed, "Graham out."

Sarah quickly whipped into the valet area of the swanky hotel and jumped out of the car, followed closely by Chuck who was quickly pushed to the ground by Casey who held a gun to his head. "Casey, what the hell are you doing?" Sarah demanded.

"Stay out of it, Walker, he belongs to the N.S.A." Casey ordered.

"No, C.I.A. gets him first." Sarah countered, "It was our guy who created this mess, we'll fix it, but right now we don't have time to get into this. According to the intel provided by the intersect download that is in Mr. Bartowski's brain, there is a bomb in the building. So, we can stay here and have our little turf war, or we can go in there and disarm the bomb, potentially saving the lives of everyone here."

"Fine, how do we get there?" Casey turned back to Chuck.

"The easiest way?" Chuck asked looking up at Sarah.

"No, the fastest," Sarah countered.

"Got ya," Chuck nodded, climbing to his feet and running through the lobby and directly through the fountain, Casey and Sarah hot on his heels. They tore down a hall and around a corner to the ballroom where the general was about to take the stage. Casey and Sarah didn't stop as they flashed their badges at the security detail as they flung the door open.

"You got us this far, Bartowski," Casey muttered, "Now where is it?"

Chuck's eyes surveyed the room until he spotted a serving cart that looked out of place and was unattended, "There, right there," He pointed following Casey and Sarah to the cart. They pulled open the lid and tore off the fabric covering the lower part of the cart to reveal a laptop computer and several bricks of C-4. There was a countdown showing on the screen as they debated the best way to disable the contraption.

Stanfield, thankfully noticed the commotion and initiated an evacuation, leaving Chuck, Sarah, Casey and a few of the security detail in the room. Casey and Sarah were struggling with finding the best solution when Chuck recognized the type of laptop it was, and an idea hit him. "Guys, I have an idea," He spoke up, nudging them out of the way as his hands flew to the computer keyboard.

"What do you think you are doing, Bartowski," Casey demanded, grabbing the younger man's arms, "That's not an x-box, and you are not an x-man."

"I know, Casey, this is a Prism Express, we have them at the BuyMore," Chuck explained as calmly as he could as he pulled his arms from Casey's grip and began to pull up the DOS override protocols, fingers flying over the keys as he spoke. "I can override the programming by using the DOS protocols to pull up the internet."

Sarah watched in fascination at how quickly Chuck was working, it brought her back to one of the first missions she'd had with Bryce, they were tasked with taking down a hacker, but all they could ever get was a copy of the attack after the fact. She had watched at how quickly and easily the hacker breached the system, what amazed her, though, was that he never stole any information. It was more like he poked around, fixed a few security gaps and got out, but not without sending an email from the internal server explaining what he'd done, and signing it with his handle, Piranha. She'd put in her report that she felt that it was a waste of resources to hunt him down as he wasn't actually doing anything illegal, aside from accessing government servers. It seemed like he didn't have any motivation but to help. There was just something about how the code flew across the screen at Chuck's prompting that brought her back to that time, but that was something she would deal with later as she saw an internet browser pop up.

"Are you really surfing porn right now?" Casey demanded incredulously as he watched Chuck call up the website for a Serbian porn star whose website had recently caused a rather aggressive virus to spread across the internet like wildfire.

"Just trust me on this," Chuck looked at the older man before turning back to Sarah, "You may want to close your eyes," He advised before hitting the key to load the website and activate the virus. They heard the starlet ask if she was sexy a few times before the hard drive began to smoke, shutting down the computer and stopping the count down. Chuck's eyes widened in surprise, "I did it! I actually stopped a bomb! …Oh my God, what if I had been wrong?"

"Don't puke on the C-4," Casey advised patting the younger man on the shoulder.

"Charlie, I am so proud of you," Sarah threw her arms around his neck, barely resisting the urge to kiss him silly right here in the middle of the ballroom floor under the watchful eye of the secret service and the N.S.A. team that Casey had brought with him.

"Thank you, Jenny." Chuck buried his head in her neck and held her tight until the nerves that had been coursing through his body subsided and he stopped shaking.

It took a few hours for the scene to be cleared for cleanup and the three of them were released, the clandestine agents to fill out their reports and Chuck to… well figure out what was to happen from here. He had stopped in the bathroom to clean the nervous sweat from his brow and neck before rejoining Casey and Sarah outside, only to hear the two of them arguing about whether or not to put him in a bunker. It was no surprise that Casey was for that option while Sarah was vehemently against it, knowing how vitally important Chuck's family, which included his closest friends, were to him.

Chuck had enough, "Hey, this is my damn life we're talking about," He interrupted, "I didn't ask for this to happen to me, but it's done. We don't even know how this stupid thing works," He gestured to his head, "Who's to say it will continue to work without any real-world stimuli? Until then, I have had a long day, I'm going home."

"You ain't going anywhere, Bartowski," Casey tried to stop him, only to have his hand slapped away by the frustrated computer nerd.

"You need me, not the other way around," Chuck reminded him, "I am going home, you can fight over territory all you want, but I refuse to leave my family, we've already lost too much. Also, wherever Sarah goes, I go. If I absolutely must have a handler, it will be her or the both of you, no other option, and I damned well better be compensated for this shit." With that he stormed off, hailing a taxi. The agents watching him with amused, shocked, and impressed looks on their faces.

"Good for you, Charlie," Sarah muttered before turning to Casey, "He's right, we don't know how it works, better to keep him topside until we know more. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some nerd watching to do."


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as the valet brought her car around, she sped off towards Malibu to their alcove to sit with him as he thought things over. She watched from a distance until the first breaks of daylight could be seen over the mountains before heading over to sit beside him, her shoes in her hand. She wrapped her arm around his and hugged herself to his side. "What are you thinking, Charlie?"

"I'm never gonna be rid of you, am I?" He asked softly, "No escape?"

"No," Sarah shook her head, "At least not from me."

"Good," He pulled his arm from her grasp and wrapped it around her, pulling her tight against his side as he leaned down to press a kiss on her head, "I don't think I could handle it if I lost you again."

"We are going to keep you out of the bunker, at least unless there is a real safety threat against you, in which case, I will lock you away myself if it means keeping you safe. Understand?" Sarah looked up at him.

"Understood, with one proviso," Chuck countered, "Ellie, Devon, and Morgan have to be protected too."

"Done," Sarah nodded. They sat for a while until Sarah felt the need to come clean with him the way she should have all those years ago. "Charlie, there are a few things I need you to know about me…"

"Daughter of a con artist who was going by the name Jack Burton at the time of his arrest," Chuck spoke softly, "That was back when you were Jenny."

"I'm still your Jenny," Sarah countered, "Intersect?"

"Intersect," Chuck confirmed, "I flashed on your ring earlier, saw your file, it's got some pretty damn impressive stuff. Although, the last assignment, that was loaded into this thing, the one in Hungary, was really murky, couldn't really make heads or tails of it."

"Remember when you said that it seemed like I'd found my purpose, my reason for being?" She looked up at him.

"Yeah," He nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"Charlie, that mission was a mess from the word 'go.'" Sarah explained, "I was sent in to take out some mobsters who had killed a rich diplomat and his wife and retrieve a package." She turned, watching the waves a moment more, letting them calm her, "Turns out a baby was the package. The man who was with me, Kieran Ryker, had set it all up. He wanted the baby who was the sole heir to her family's fortune. I couldn't stand by and watch him take advantage of her and then throw her away like trash. I took her and ran, I was able to smuggle her back to the states, and convinced some of my dad's old contacts to get me forged documents for her as well as some legit contacts of mine who would make them legal without involving my name or hers in any of it."

"So, you're a mom, now?" Chuck's eyebrows raised as he looked at her in astonishment, and maybe there was a slight hint of admiration and dare she hope for it, love in his warm eyes.

"Yes… No… I don't know," She shook her head, "All that matters, is that she is safe now. I took her to my mom to take care of. My name has been changed so many times both legally and… less so, that the C.I.A. has no official record of her being connected to me, which means that it will be harder for Ryker to find them."

Chuck nodded and was quiet for a while before he spoke again. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hmmm?" Sarah looked over at him.

"When the day comes that you can take her back, because we both know that day will come sooner or later, would it be too much to ask to be there?" Chuck asked.

"If that day ever comes," Sarah shrugged, "Sure."

"Jenny," Chuck spoke firmer, causing her to look up at him, "I don't think you understand what I'm asking. I know you, just as much as I did back when we were kids, you are my 'it' girl, the one by whom I measure all other potential relationships. I am so tired of second best; I want the real deal. I know you don't feel like you are ready now, and I don't know how this whole computer on the brain thing will work out, but I'm yours, forever, irrevocably. That also extends to your daughter, because let's face it, that's really what she is to you. All that to say, when the time comes, I want to be there for you, for both of you, in whatever capacity that you'll allow. Husband, boyfriend, friend, father, weird uncle who has the hots for Mommy…"

Sarah snorted at his humor and nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek, how was it this man could make her fall in love with him so completely in the span of a day? He did it when they were teenagers and did it again now. She had a feeling that if Graham went along with this plan to keep Chuck out of the bunker, he would want some way of having near constant protection for him, which means she would be asked to play the part of the girlfriend for the sake of his friends and family. "Molly."

"I'm sorry?" Chuck asked her.

"Her name, is Molly," Sarah smiled softly, "Amalia Lisa Novak."

"Novak?" Chuck raised an eyebrow, "That's Polish, isn't it?"

"I didn't think that would be a problem, Mr. Bartowski," Sarah teased him.

"It's not, I just didn't realize you were." Chuck shrugged, "I assume Novak was your birth name?"

"Samantha Lisa Novak," Sarah confirmed, "But you can call me Sarah, or Jenny."

"How about I call you Sarah with everyone else, but keep Jenny just for us?" Chuck offered.

"So long as we can keep Charlie just for us, too," Sarah purred, leaning up to kiss him.

"I can live with that," Chuck nodded returning the kiss, "And pretty much anything else that is thrown at me so long as you, and hopefully one day Molly, are a part of the deal."

"Always," She promised, "Do you have any idea how much I've missed you?"

"Probably about as much as I've missed you," Chuck smiled at her, but it quickly turned to a yawn.

"Tired?" She smiled at him, knowingly.

"Yeah," Chuck admitted, "It's kinda been a long few days."

"Call out," She advised, "I'll take you back to my place, it's closer. We can get some rest before you take me home to meet the family."

"Sounds good," Chuck nodded.

The pair was halfway to the car when Chuck stopped her with a hand on her arm. "There is one more thing, in the spirit of full disclosure. I don't want any secrets or lies between us. I'm more than just a computer nerd at the BuyMore."

"I know," Sarah grinned up at him.

"Actually, you probably don't, it's not really something of public record," Chuck shook his head, "Wouldn't have been in my dossier that I know you got before you were sent here. It started out as a dare in junior high school and kinda grew from there. Ellie doesn't even know about it; she would have killed me if she did."

Sarah waited patiently for him to spit out whatever it was that was weighing on his mind.

"I know this may make you doubt my honesty about whether or not I actually did the cheating that resulted in my expulsion from Stanford," Chuck gave her a nervous smile, "Have you ever heard of a hacker that goes by the handle Piranha?"

"Yeah, pretty much all the alphabet agencies from the F.B.I. to the C.I.A., even the N.S.A. have been trying to figure out who he is to recruit him." She looked up at him and saw his sheepish smile, "Wait, you mean to tell me that _you_ are the Piranha?"

"Yep, I am him, or he is me. Well, you get the idea," Chuck shrugged, "Is that going to be a problem?"

"No, it actually may help me convince the D.N.I. to pay you for your contributions as the intersect host if we bring you on as an analyst." Sarah grinned, "Although your lack of a college degree may be problematic, but we might be able to work around that, I'll have to talk to Graham."

"So, you're not mad?" Chuck checked with her.

"Relieved I'm not going crazy is more like," Sarah laughed giving him a kiss and leading him back to the car, "Back at the hotel, I thought I recognized the coding you had used. I'd seen it before, when Bryce and I had been put on a cyberterrorism prevention team, a couple years back. There was this guy who kept helping us, but no one knew who it was. Did Bryce ever know?"

"Oh, Bryce knew," Chuck rolled his eyes, "I'm actually surprised he didn't use it as the grounds of my expulsion rather than the tests, since the first charge would have at least been a legitimate reason to get me kicked out. Technically speaking, hacking is against the student code of conduct for Stanford University."

Once they were in the car and on their way back to Sarah's hotel, she spoke again, "So let me get this straight, Bryce knew that you were actively hacking when you were in college but resorted to planting stolen tests to get you kicked out? That doesn't sound right,"

"I don't really understand it either," Chuck shrugged as they continued on down the road.

They sat in silence a few more minutes until something occurred to Sarah, "What was the test?"

"It was for my psychology of media elective, the midterm was something about subliminal image retention and visual auditory encoding," Chuck shrugged as they pulled into the hotel parking lot, "I remember Professor Fleming saying it was going to be super hard, but it wasn't really all that bad, at least not until I got called into his office a week later. I was told that I had done much better on the test than the rest of the class and was accused of stealing the answer key."

"Fleming?" Sarah's eyes shot to him, "As in George Fleming?"

"You know him?" Chuck's eyes widened.

"I know of him," Sarah explained, "He's one of the top C.I.A. recruiters on the West Coast. I don't know why I didn't think of it before, Ivy League and Elite level universities tend to have the highest number of nominated candidates…"

"Jenny, what are you talking about?" Chuck pressed.

"Did he ever request a private meeting with you?" Sarah inquired, "Before the stolen tests were planted, that is?"

"No, but I do remember Bryce acting kind of weird a few days before that," Chuck admitted, "I caught him erasing something from our answering machine and looking guilty. I figured some girl he'd slept with had left a really inappropriate message on the machine and I'd caught him listening and deleting it. It'd happened before, it was bound to happen again."

"Charlie, I think it's a real possibility that Fleming wanted to recruit you and Bryce took it upon himself to block it for some reason," Sarah explained, "I'll have to talk to my boss about this, if I'm right, we may be able to get Stanford to drop its charge of cheating and reverse your expulsion."

"You can try," Chuck shrugged, as they made their way into the hotel and up to Sarah's room, "I doubt that you'll succeed, not because putting things right isn't out of your abilities, more that Stanford very rarely reverses these kinds of decisions. It just sucks that it had to happen my last term, to be stopped 12 credits short of my goal and for a fake reason was so incredibly frustrating."

"12 credits?!" Sarah looked up at him as she disengaged the door lock and raised her finger to her mouth to be quiet. Once she was satisfied the room was bug free, she continued her thought, "You were so close, I hope they won't make it too hard on you to finish if we are able to get this straightened out for you. But that's a problem for another day, for now, sleep." She nodded toward the bed.

"Okay," Chuck nodded then stopped short when he saw the one bed, "Um, Jenny, there's only one bed."

"Charlie, we're both adults," She chuckled, "I think we can handle sharing a bed."

"I also don't have anything to sleep in," He protested.

"Just strip down to your underwear, that should be comfortable enough," She shrugged, pulling her blouse up over her head and grabbing a t-shirt from the dresser, slipping it on before reaching up under the back. Chuck saw her hands moving beneath her shirt but had no idea what she was doing until she got a satisfied and relieved look on her face and pulling her arms through the arm straps which now hung loosely through the arm holes of her shirt, before pulling her bra out from the neck of her shirt. She then undid her pants and shimmied them down her legs tossing the garment over the arm of the sofa before crawling into the bed in nothing but a t-shirt and her panties.

Chuck was frozen in place but quickly came to when he heard her call his name which was all he needed to hear to jumpstart his focus. He quickly loosened his tie, unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it up over his head, tossing it over the back of a nearby chair before kicking off his shoes and socks and undoing his pants. Once he was down to his boxers and undershirt, he did his level best to stay calm as he slid into the bed beside Sarah, trying to not put too much focus on both of their states of undress.

Chuck woke the next morning to the sound of beeping. The next thing that registered was the warm body pressed up against his. At some point in the night, they must have gravitated towards each other as now their legs were tangled together with Sarah snuggled against his chest, his arms wrapped around her protectively. There didn't seem to be a part of their body that wasn't in complete contact with the other. '_Oh, dear God_,' Chuck thought to himself realizing just how closely together their bodies were pressed. He heard a soft sniffle from Sarah as she turned around in his arms until they were spooning, her back pressed up against his chest, his hand falling over her waist as naturally as it did over the body of his guitar. This left his fingers laying on the bare skin between where her shirt had ridden up and the waistband of her panties, his fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns below her navel like they were plucking the strings of an instrument. At least their legs were no longer tangled together, but her bottom was now pressed up against him as much as her back was, which had the potential to create an even more awkward situation.

A moment later Sarah, now slowly waking, started to stretch her back which, to Chuck's dismay, included twisting her hips to release the tension in her lower back. As if having her pressed up against him wasn't problematic enough, the motion of her hips… Chuck let out a small whimper, trying to keep it together while enduring the most beautiful woman in the known universe practically writhing in his arms. He knew he had to do something to get the torture to stop so he slowly slid his hand from where it rested below her belly button over to rest on her hip, stalling the motion. "You really need to stop that, Baby," He hummed in Sarah's ear, "Before you start something we really don't have the time to finish right now."

"Hmm?" Sarah responded sleepily until their position, location, and situation came crashing down on her. She quickly rolled away from the close contact, "I am so sorry," She flushed, "I didn't mean to…"

"You don't need to apologize," Chuck assured her, pulling her into his arms until her head rested on his chest again, his fingers tracing patterns on her back. "Trust me I had no complaints, and I am sure you are now fully aware at just how interested I am. That being said, we only just met again, and I think it would be best if we took our time getting to know each other again. Go out on a few dates first, let you meet Ellie and Devon, maybe when it's safe enough, let me meet Molly and your mom. And then when we are both able to fully commit to taking it to that level, we will."

"Why are you so good to me, Charlie?" Sarah whispered, raising her face to look at him as he leaned up to press a kiss on her lips.

"With you, it just comes naturally," He smiled warmly at her.

It was then that Sarah finally noticed the beeping and registered what it was. "Shit, that's probably Graham looking for an update."

"Tell you what, why don't I go hop in the shower while you see what he wants?" Chuck suggested, sliding out of the bed, grabbing the pants, shirt, and tie he'd discarded the night before and heading toward the open bathroom door.

With a sigh, Sarah quickly grabbed her bra, a blouse, and a hair tie, quickly dressing her upper half and finger-brushing her hair back, securing it with the hair tie. She grabbed her laptop and set it on her lap, greeting her boss as if she wasn't currently half naked.

"It's about time, Walker," Graham frowned.

"I'm sorry, I was up all night monitoring Mr. Bartowski," She explained, I only just got back to my room a few hours ago. Your call woke me up."

"I hear from Beckman that you and Major Casey have decided to not put the asset in a bunker?" Graham's question came out more like a statement.

"That's right, Sir," Sarah nodded, "Since we do not know much about how the intersect program works, what triggers the release of information, add to that, Mr. Bartowski's deep connection with his remaining family and friends, we feel it is prudent to allow him to maintain his established status quo so as to not add more stress to an already stressful situation.."

"Very well," Graham nodded, "In that case, we will need to set up around the clock surveillance on him. We can install Casey in the BuyMore to keep an eye on him at work, but for after hours, it may be helpful to have you pose as his girlfriend so as to not arouse the suspicions of his family regarding your constant presence."

"Understood," Sarah agreed, secretly thrilled that Graham was doing exactly what she'd expected him to do, "It would also be in the best interest of all involved if Mr. Bartowski is compensated for his time. Now before you protest, some information has come to light that makes me question the situation surrounding his dismissal from Stanford University."

"What kind of information?" Graham raised a questioning eyebrow.

"It appears, the professor who had him expelled for cheating his senior year was Professor George Flemming," Sarah gave her director a meaningful look, "And the student who allegedly 'found' the answer key under Mr. Bartowski's bed was Agent Larkin who, up until that point, was one of Mr. Bartowski's closest friends. I believe there was more to those actions than may have originally met the eye."

"I understand," Graham nodded, "Is there a particular reason you feel it is necessary for the asset's educational progress and conduct to undergo closer review?"

"Isn't it a requirement of analysts to hold a bachelor's degree or higher?" Sarah inquired, "Or am I mistaken?"

"Who said anything about making the asset an analyst?" Graham furrowed his brow.

"Director Graham, does the name 'Piranha' mean anything to you?" Sarah smirked, causing Graham's eyebrows to shoot up in recognition.

"You have got to be kidding me with this Walker," Graham groaned, "You can't possibly expect me to believe that the asset is capable of the advanced coding that has been used by Piranha."

"I saw it with my own eyes, Director," Sarah gave a small shrug, "And Mr. Bartowski offered the information of his online persona to me freely, with no coercion or provocation. Why else would he know of that name?"

"He is a service technician, is he not?" Graham challenged.

"You and I both know Piranha wouldn't be working at a public enough level for a simple service technician at a box store to be aware of him." Sarah shook her head, "Hell, we only know about him because he told us he had been in our system and had repaired some security holes."

"Would it help if I demonstrated?" Chuck asked from where he was leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom. His hair damp and curly, tie loose around his neck. It took everything in Sarah's power to not blush at the sight.

"Who was that?" Graham's voice could be heard from the laptop.

"That would be Mr. Bartowski, Sir." Sarah advised, "After what happened last night, I thought it would be best to keep a close eye on him until we could set up some security protocols regarding his newfound abilities."

Graham gave her an evaluating look at the explanation, seeing that Sarah did not squirm under his gaze, he gave a small nod of acceptance over her reasoning, "Very well, you are to take the asset to the L.A. field office so that he can 'demonstrate' for us. I will alert the Special Agent in Charge to allow you both access. Be there at 14:00."

"Yes, Sir," Sarah nodded, "Anything else?"

"That will be all for now," Graham responded, "I will be in touch, until otherwise informed, proceed with the protocols and directions laid out in this briefing."

"Understood, Sir," Sarah nodded and disconnected the call. She took a deep breath and turned to Chuck, "Do you have any idea how distracting you are?" She challenged him, rising from the bed to place her laptop on a nearby table.

"About as distracting as you are in that get-up?" Chuck swallowed thickly, trying to not give too much attention to her long bare legs. "I know I'm probably gonna kick myself for this later, but could you please put some pants on or a skirt or something?"

"Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?" Sarah challenged, sauntering over to him, running her hands up his chest and looping his untied tie around her fingers pulling him down for a kiss. When she pulled back, she noticed the dazed expression on his face a wide smile on his lips. With a grin of her own, she crossed back to her suitcase, grabbed some clothes and headed toward the bathroom. "Gonna take a quick shower then we can swing by your place so you can change for our meeting, I doubt you want to go wearing your nerd herd uniform from yesterday."

Chuck shook his head, clearing it after it had rebooted, "Uh, yeah, sounds good," He called back as the door closed behind Sarah. Chuck sighed deeply as he sat on the end of Sarah's bed, "Wow, clearly she still has the same effect on me she did when she was 16… But I can't deny I like it."

As he heard the shower turn on, he went to work tidying the room, making the bed, any little thing he could think of to get his mind off of his Jenny… naked… in the shower. '_Get yourself under control, Bartowski'_ He mentally chided himself, '_Both Jenny and Ellie would kill you if they knew the thoughts that were running through your head right now._'

Moments later, the door swung open with a small release of steam to reveal Sarah, make up impeccably done, long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing the same conservative blouse she'd worn for the conference with a light grey A-line skirt that fell to her knees. She walked across the room barefoot, grabbing a pair of black pumps that lifted her to nearly eye level with Chuck. "Ready to go?"

"After you," Chuck nodded, gesturing to the door. An internal battle waging as he followed her out, one side wanting to take it's time appreciating just how good she'd looked in all states of dress and undress he'd seen her in that day, the other telling him that this was not the way his sister had raised him and he needed to be more respectful and stop blatantly objectifying his Jenny. There was also a small voice in the back of his head challenging him, saying that he could both appreciate her inner and outer beauty, while still respecting her.

"Were you just staring at my ass?" Sarah gave him a teasing look over her shoulder as they approached her Porsche and she unlocked it, walking around to the driver's side door.

"Who, me?" Chuck stammered, "No, there was no ass… no ass staring going on over here."

"Too bad," She gave him a secretive smile as she slid into the car. The small voice in the back of his head joyfully taunted him '_Told ya._" As he groaned and got into the car.


	3. Chapter 3

It didn't take long to arrive at Echo Park, especially with Sarah driving. As Sarah was pulling into the complex's parking lot, Chuck noticed his sister's pale blue 1992 Chevy Corsica still in the lot. He knew that it didn't mean much that the car was still there, as Ellie and Devon would drive into work together when they worked the same shift. He just couldn't remember if this was one of those days. As they made their way toward the condo he shared with his sister and her boyfriend, Sarah could feel his hesitation.

"Charlie?" She looked up at him, watching the look of trepidation cross his face, "What're you thinking?"

"I'm seriously debating climbing through my window, changing really quick and leaving again," Chuck gave her a small smile. He took a deep breath, "But I know that would only make it worse when I finally showed myself… assuming Ellie is home."

They took a few steps further before Chuck stopped them again, "Wait, if she is home, what's the story? I can't exactly tell her that my former best friend sent me government secrets that I somehow managed to download into my brain resulting in my weekend fling from senior year of high school, who is incidentally a C.I.A. agent like said former best friend, coming to protect me. Not only that, but the same smoking hot fling and I were instrumental in disabling a bomb and circumventing a plot to assassinate a US General."

"Yeah, that might be a bit much," Sarah snickered, earning her an unamused look from her not-so-cover boyfriend, "In these types of instances, sticking as close to the truth is best. Easier to remember down the line. Did you ever tell your sister about me?"

Chuck smirked, "Yeah, but I don't know if I ever gave her your name…"

"Even if you had, it's been so long that the discrepancy could be easily brushed off as her misremembering the name." She shrugged, "So we can just tell her that we ran into each other at the store yesterday and decided to have dinner. We went back to my place for a movie that went late, I wasn't up to driving because we'd had some wine, so you crashed at my place."

"That actually doesn't sound like a bad date," Chuck gave a small shrug, "We should do it for real sometime."

"I'd like that," Sarah grinned up at him.

Chuck took a breath to steady his nerves before extending his hand to Sarah, who gave his hand a supportive squeeze, and continuing on to his front door. Before he could pull his keys out, the door swung open revealing Ellie.

"Where the hell have you been?" She demanded, "When you didn't come home last night, I got worried. I even called Morgan, _Morgan_, Chuck! He didn't even know where you were, just babbled on something about a 'smoking hot blond…'" She faded off, noticing the woman holding her younger brother's hand.

"Sorry, Elle," Chuck gave her his best repentant smile, "I got distracted."

"I can see why," His older sister took in the beautiful woman with Chuck, "But would it have killed you to answer your phone last night?"

"I forgot it in my locker, sis," Chuck shrugged, "Are you gonna let us in? I promise we'll explain."

"Fine," Ellie sighed, stepping aside and letting the couple pass by. She took one of the armchairs while Chuck and the woman took a seat on the sofa, it was clear whoever this woman was, her brother was clearly smitten. "Alright, you're in, explain."

"Ellie, I am so sorry I worried you," Chuck reiterated, "Sarah came in yesterday, we hadn't seen each other in a long time, and we decided to catch up. Wound up watching a movie at her place and after a few glasses of wine she wasn't fit to drive, and I didn't have the herder, so I crashed at her place."

"Catch up?" Ellie looked confused, "I don't remember you ever knowing a Sarah, is she a friend from Stanford?"

"A little further back than that, Sis," Chuck gave Ellie a small smile, "Do you remember when I came back from that competition in San Diego and told you I'd met someone?"

"Yeah," Ellie watched as her brother gestured to the woman beside him with his free hand.

"Meet Sarah," Chuck smiled over at his companion, "We met at the beach during down time the morning that Morgan and I snuck out to go to ComicCon, I got bored and took the ferry to Coronado where I saw her playing her violin and recognized her from the competition. We were inseparable after that."

"We'll get back to the fact you snuck away in a minute," Ellie gave her brother a stern look. "What I would like to know is if you were inseparable, how is it that Morgan didn't recognize her?" Ellie challenged, "Surely he would have remembered you hanging out with a beautiful girl, even back then."

"I think I can answer that," Sarah broke in, "While we did spend a good portion of that first day together at the beach, Morgan was at the convention center on the other side of the bay."

"We parted ways before I met up with Morgan again, so he didn't meet her there," Chuck added, "When we got back to the school for the semifinals, his section leader wanted to go over some stuff, so we went our separate ways again, Sarah and I spent the rest of that afternoon, aside from when our individual bands were playing, listening to the other schools as we got to know each other better."

"Why do I get a feeling that was a euphemism for making out in the balcony of the auditorium?" Ellie arched an eyebrow at the blushing couple.

"It might have been," Chuck admitted with a nervous laugh, "Morgan did meet her the next day during our lunch break and we sat together at the award ceremony."

"In his defense, I did look a lot different back then," Sarah admitted with a small shrug, "Frizzy hair, braces, hand-me-down clothes, it wasn't pretty."

"You were beautiful, even back then," Chuck shook his head.

"You were the only one who ever thought so," Sarah rolled her eyes, "At least until after I went to college and my roommate gave me a makeover. Even after guys started giving me more attention, I don't think they ever saw past this," She gestured to her physical appearance.

"That's because they're idiots." Chuck shook his head.

"You two are perfect for each other," Ellie grinned looking at the couple then looked at her watch, "I have to get to work, Sarah, it was nice to meet you. Chuck, next time, please take your phone with you. I'll talk to you later about skipping out on Big Mike."

"Oh, come on, Elle, it was nearly ten years ago!" Chuck protested, then sighed defeated knowing that he wasn't going to get out of the reprimand from his sister even this long after the fact, "Well in the spirit of full disclosure, Sarah and I have plans today. Just came back to change, don't know how long we'll be."

"Alright, I'll see you later," Ellie nodded, "Sarah, we try to have family dinners on Fridays. Usually Chuck, me and my boyfriend, usually Morgan shows up at some point," She rolled her eyes at the mention of her brother's best friend, "I would really like it if you could join us so we can get to know you better."

"I'd love that," Sarah nodded, "I don't think I have any plans, I just moved here, and my work schedule is a bit up in the air at the moment."

"I'll see you then," Ellie gave her a smile then, pulling her purse strap over her shoulder and grabbing her keys, headed out the door.

"Well that was less painful than I'd anticipated," Chuck shrugged, getting up from the couch only to stop when the door flung open again and his sister entered, slugging him in the shoulder, "Geeze, Elle!"

"That's for making me have to call Morgan," She slugged his other shoulder, "And that's for worrying me." With that she turned on her heel, slamming the door behind her as she left.

"I like her," Sarah chuckled at the glare her boyfriend was sending her way, "What? She's got spunk."

"I'll give you spunk," Chuck made a face, "Yeah, heard it as it was coming out of my mouth. I'm gonna go get dressed now. Judging by your attire, business casual?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded.

"Alright," Chuck took a few steps towards his room before turning around, "Do you want to hang out here, or do you want to come in with me?"

"I'll come with you," She smiled at him, "I mean you already saw my room. Turnabout is fair play, Charlie."

Chuck just rolled his eyes and gestured with a nod of his head for her to follow. When he opened the door, it was like stepping into a nerd's paradise. Chuck had badges and tickets from multiple ComicCons hanging on the wall along with movie posters, collectors' items, a low bookshelf held multiple fantasy novels and more than a few comics in protective sleeves, and a computer desk in the corner with a monitor, mouse, and keyboard. The compartment for the tower was still empty, causing Sarah to give him a guilty look, "I'm sorry about the computer, I promise the company will replace it."

"I'd rather just get a check, if you don't mind," Chuck shrugged, "I don't know if that's possible or whatnot, but I like to build my computer to suit my needs. I can write up a price list or just buy the equipment and give you an invoice to send to whomever handles that kind of stuff for the C.I.A."

"We can bring it up with Graham when we get to the field office." Sarah advised, taking a seat on his bed and continuing to look around, she smiled a bit when she noticed the Tron poster on his wall. "That's kind of a cool looking one," She nodded toward the poster in question.

"Oh yeah, it came out a year or so after I was born," Chuck explained as he sorted through his closet for an appropriate outfit, "It was my dad's favorite movie, when I got older, it became mine too. He got me the poster on my last birthday before he left."

After rummaging around his closet, he realized that he really didn't have much in the way of business style clothes as he'd spent the last four years behind the desk at the BuyMore. "Um, slight problem, I don't think I have anything other than my Nerd Herd uniform for office clothes."

"Really?" Sarah looked over, "Do you mind if I take a look?"

"Go right ahead," Chuck waved toward the closet and waited for her to take a look.

"What about this suit?" She held out a dark suit in a plastic drycleaner's cover.

"Doesn't fit," Chuck shrugged, "It was my dad's, I'm a bit taller than he was and he was a little broader in the shoulders."

"Alright," Sarah put the suit back in the closet and continued to look. A few moments later she came out with a pair of black pants which he usually wore for work and a light blue button-down shirt. "This should work, with…" She grabbed a tie with blue and grey alternating diagonal stripes, "This tie."

"Thanks, Jen," Chuck gave her a relieved smile, taking the clothes from her before going to a drawer, grabbing socks, a fresh pair of boxers, and an undershirt. "I'll just go change into this."

Sarah nodded and turned her attention back to the closet to find appropriate shoes for the outfit. As adorable as the chucks were that he wore, she thought, at least for his first time to the field office, he probably shouldn't wear them, no matter how comfortable they were. She quickly found a pair of black oxfords in the back of his closet. By the time Chuck had returned, freshly shaved and changed, she was sitting back on his bed, pillows behind her back reading his old copy of 'The Magician's Apprentice." At some point, she'd kicked off her heels and her bare feet were crossed at the ankle allowing him full view of her bright red pedicure.

"I loved that series when I was a kid," Chuck smiled at her, causing her to look up at him as he took a seat on the bed and began to put on the shoes she had laid out for him with no complaint, "Did you ever read it?"

"No," She shook her head, "I remember one night when I was waiting for my dad to get back from a job, I was flipping through the channels and came across the local Public Broadcasting Station. They were showing the BBC version of 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,' I remember watching and crying when Mr. Tumnus came clean for what he was going to do to Lucy. I was just starting to realize what my dad and I were doing was wrong, and it really hit home. I was probably about 11 or 12 years old, had no idea how to get a hold of my mom or my grandma to come get me, assuming they even could."

Chuck, who had just finished tying his shoes turned slightly, laying a hand on her leg, just below her right knee, rubbing it absentmindedly as he listened to her. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"Don't get me wrong, I love my dad, and loved our adventures," Sarah amended, "But deep down I knew it was wrong. To be honest, sometimes I feel like that with this job." She sighed.

Chuck didn't say a word, just slide closer until he was sitting beside her and pulled her into his embrace. He felt her stiffen in his arms for a moment before letting her guard down and wrapping her arms around him, and for the first time in a long time, she allowed her walls to come down. They sat like that for a few minutes before Sarah sat back on the bed and noticed the wet spot on Chuck's shoulder, it wasn't until she felt him swipe his thumbs under her eyes that she realized that she had been the cause of the wet fabric.

"I'm sorry," She gave him a sheepish look before turning away.

"Hey," He caught her face in his hand and turned it back to him, "You never have to apologize to me for letting yourself feel, Jenny. I know you have to put up a strong front for your job and around others, but with me, you are safe to feel whatever you want. I will be your shoulder to cry on, your metaphoric punching bag if you need to let off some steam, especially when I am the cause of it. I want to share in your joy, your sadness, and everything in between." He spoke softly, his intense hazel eyes never leaving hers, "Simply put, I will be here for you no matter what."

"Are you sure you want to take that on?" She asked quietly, "I have a lot of baggage."

"Just consider me your own personal baggage handler," He made a face as he realized how corny what he'd just said was but shrugged and decided to stand by his statement. "Now, if you want to go wash your face before you go, you're welcome to. If you need to touch anything up, Ellie has makeup in the cabinet under the sink. I'm sure she won't mind parting with a little bit of it if you need it."

"Thanks," Sarah smiled up at him as he stood and offered his hand to her, "I'm sure I look a mess."

"No, you're beautiful," Chuck stated. The open honesty in his voice and in his eyes was nearly her undoing… again. Giving him a small smile, she rose up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his smooth cheek before turning and heading down the hall to where he'd told her the bathroom was.

She found a stack of towels in one of the cabinets and grabbed a washcloth from the stack. Wetting it with cool water, she patted the fabric against her emotion-flushed face and neck until the redness subsided. A quick check in the mirror told her that, thankfully, little repair work was needed. It wasn't hard to find Ellie's makeup kit and the mascara stored within. A few quick swipes of the brush restored what her tears had washed away. Once everything was put away again, she went back to Chuck's room to collect her shoes.

"Take a seat," Chuck gestured to the bed, kneeling beside it as she did so, "I've wanted to do this since my mom first read Cinderella to me as a kid." She looked at him curiously as he picked up one shoe and then the other, gently sliding each shoe onto its proper foot.

"You don't have some kind of foot fetish, do you?" She teased him.

"No," He chuckled, "Just a whim."

"You are a strange man, Charles Bartowski," She gave him an amused smile as he stood and lifted her to her feet.

"Meh," He shrugged, an adorable half smile on his lips, "Normal is overrated."

"Alright, Mr. Abby Normal," Sarah teased, "Let's get going before we're late."

Chuck just stared at her, "Did you just make a pop culture reference?"

"What?" She gave him an innocent look, "I happen to like Gene Wilder."

"You are truly an enigma, Jenny," Chuck shook his head bemusedly as he grabbed his messenger bag, wallet, and keys and followed her out the door.

"And you are one of the few that know it, Charlie," She teased back, unlocking the doors of her Porsche and waiting for Chuck to dash around her to open her door for her. She'd thought about racing him to it when she realized that he opened doors for her every time, but she had to admit, she kinda liked the chivalry of it all.

It took nearly 45 minutes in L.A. traffic to arrive at the L.A. field office, even with Sarah's balls to the wall driving style. Sarah's credentials allowed them to enter through the employee entrance, but they still needed to pass the employee security checkpoint which took some time due to the small cache of weapons that Sarah carried on her person that had to be systematically removed and registered in the system. Chuck just stared in wide-eyed amazement as she pulled one item after the other from their concealed locations to the point that he wondered how she hid it all. Finally, once Sarah had rehidden every gun and knife on her person, they continued on.

They were met by the Special Agent in Charge of the field office, who led them to a small conference room where a computer terminal had been set up outside of the internal server and the video conference system was ready and available for the call. After shaking both Chuck and Sarah's hands and commending them on their handling of the bomb at the security conference the previous day. They both humbly nodded their acknowledgement and settled into the conference room. Moments later, Casey joined them, huffing at the inconvenient C.I.A. security.

"Of course, I carry a weapon," He groused, "It's like they've never heard of the second amendment? I'm an agent of the N.S.A. for God's sake, I'm gonna be armed!"

"If you are quite finished, Major," Langston raised an eyebrow at the Marine officer. The two agents and potential asset hadn't noticed when he'd initiated the video conference midway through Casey's rant.

"Yes, Sir," Casey nodded.

"As discussed, this morning with Agent Walker, it was suggested that we utilize Mr. Bartowski as an analyst rather than an asset due to his unique set of skills." Langston began, "We have some of our top cyber security specialists, who are familiar with recent hacker activity, on standby to monitor Mr. Bartowski's progress through the designated server. They will then let us know whether or not his claim of being Piranha is true."

"How are we to proceed?" Sarah inquired.

"There is an envelope next to the computer with the target and directions for Mr. Bartowski's goal. How he goes about obtaining the goal, is his prerogative." Graham informed them. "Once his task has been completed, the analysts will review the data and once the validity of Mr. Bartowski's claim can be proven; we will make the decision whether or not to offer him a position as analyst. Mr. Bartowski, do you understand?"

"Yes, Director Graham, I understand," Chuck nodded and took a seat at the computer terminal that had been set up for his evaluation and set his messenger bag on a chair next to him. He booted up the computer and picked up the manila envelope that was sitting to the left of the keyboard. Withdrawing the sheet detailing what he was to do, he red it over, nodded his understanding of the parameters, and slipped the paper back into the envelope and got to work. The first step was to break the password encryption on the computer itself. After locating a port, he reached into his messenger bag and pulled out what looked to be a small thumb drive and slid it into one of the USB ports on the front of the tower. When the device's LED light turned blue, he pulled out his cell phone and pressed a few buttons. The light on the device began to blink as a text box popped up on the computer screen as an algorithm sorted through the various permutations of access codes for the computer. A few short minutes later, the computer beeped and the home screen appeared.

Chuck beamed over the success, Casey scowled, the technicians back at Langley as well as the agents in the LA Field Office shared looks of awe, disbelief, and respect for the asset's skills. Graham's face gave away nothing, while Sarah did her best to hide the look of pride that threatened to push its way to the surface of her carefully controlled agent mask. They all watched on as Chuck pulled up a browser and went to work in earnest.

"This would be a lot easier if I had bottle of Rombauer," Chuck muttered softly as the breached the first firewall and started in on the second, "But you all probably frown on drinking on the clock huh?" His eyes momentarily went from the screen in front of him to look at the individuals around the room as well as Director Graham, none of whom reacted to his quip. "No matter, I can make do without it." He shrugged before putting his head down and focusing once more on what he was doing. Anyone watching the screen could see the various text boxes that Chuck cycled through to achieve his goal. The whole exercise only took about 15 minutes, start to finish, which was on the longer side of what Chuck preferred to stay in a system. This was so as to avoid too much attention to himself. As he was pulling out of the system, he caught a few data errors which could lead to terrible breaches in the security of the system he'd hacked by other, less scrupulous hackers. He quickly patched the breaches and, in true Piranha form, sent an anonymous email to the webmaster pointing out the error and how he'd fixed it along with instructions on how to repair similar issues. A scant few moments later, he was fully out of the system, and a moment beyond that, out of the computer entirely.

"Impressive, Mr. Bartowski," Graham spoke, his deep voice giving nothing away, "We will have our analysts review the exercise and get back to you and your handler once they find conclusive evidence you are who you say you are. Until then, your team is on standby."

"Understood, Director," Sarah nodded.

Graham disconnected the video call and the two agents, and their asset, made their way out of the building, leaving the IT staff to disassemble the terminal. Casey muttered something about needing to finalize security protocols and practically ran to his Crown Vic once they exited the building. Chuck and Sarah made their way to Sarah's Porsche at a more sedate rate. Sarah gave Chuck a warm smile as he opened the door for her and held it while she got into the vehicle before closing the door and rounding the front of the car to the passenger side and sliding in himself.

"So, what now?" Chuck inquired.

"Now, it's just a waiting game," Sarah shrugged, turning over the ignition, "Hopefully it won't take the analysts more than a few days to review the data and give their ruling to Graham."

"So, what you're saying is that we probably won't be hearing back from him today?" Chuck smiled expectantly at her. When Sarah nodded, his grin widened, "So, since my sister is under the impression that we are spending the day together, why don't we actually spend the day together? Maybe catch a movie, get something to eat? We never did have a real date back then or since."

"I'm up for that," Sarah smiled warmly at him, "Did you have anything particular in mind, Charlie?"

"The newest Jason Bourne film just came out a month or so ago," Chuck suggested, when Sarah gave him a blank look, he quickly explained the premise of the film only to be met with a grimace from his cover girlfriend, "Got it, no spy flicks. We could see the new Underworld movie, it's about a badass woman who battles warewolves, vampries, and…" Her look cut him off, "Alright so, that's a no, too." He sighed.

"Sorry, my life has just been so intense lately, I'm really not wanting to watch something intense right now," She sighed.

"Okay, lighthearted, I think we can do," Chuck nodded, "There's a live action version of the cartoon Underdog that just came out, and Mr. Bean has a film out…"

"I love Rowan Atkinson!" Sarah grinned, "I spent a lot of time in Europe and had a lot of down time, caught a few televised performances of his stand up and Mr. Bean routines, he is hilarious!"

"Remind me to introduce you to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton someday," Chuck smirked at her. "There's a theatre a few blocks from the Santa Monica Pier. We can go check out show times, maybe get a bit to eat, I hear they just opened an Orange Orange in the shopping district there."

"Sounds fun, but first, we should probably change," She advised, pulling into a nearby service station.

"Change?" Chuck gave her a puzzled look, "Into what? I didn't bring a change of clothes."

"I know, but I took care of it for you when you were in the shower." She grinned, stepping out of the car and opening the trunk, tossing a small duffel at him when he joined her, "A good spy always has a go bag ready to go. I'll teach you later how to pack one, but for now go change."

Chuck simply rolled his eyes and nodded before ducking into the service station's men's room. By the time he'd returned, wearing a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved brown t-shirt under a green and white striped button down that was rolled up at the elbows and left unbuttoned, Sarah had likewise changed. She had let down her hair which now fell in waves over her shoulders and was now wearing tan capris, a lilac blouse, and a pair of brown low-top converse. "Neither movie starts for an hour or so, so I thought we could walk around a little, window shop?"

"Alright," Chuck nodded, tossing his duffel into the open trunk next to Sarah's and closing the trunk before joining her in the car to complete their journey to the Downtown Santa Monica shopping district. After purchasing their tickets, they found the Orange Orange a block down and enjoyed some Mango Madness before taking their time looking at a few of the stores and, eventually, making their way to the theatre to enjoy the rest of their afternoon watching British comedy while eating popcorn with milk duds sprinkled over it and large sodas.

While Chuck and Sarah were enjoying their non-spy time, the analysts back at Langley were working full bore, evaluating Chuck's code line by line. They'd originally thought it would take at least 24 hours to render analysis on the coding, but in less than three, they had their answer. It came in the form of an email stating what had been patched, at the same time, an analyst had been looking over the codes and started laughing out loud, catching everyone's attention. When his supervisor and peers inquired as to what was so funny, he turned his monitor and pointed to the line of code which read 'It's really me guys. – Piranha'


	4. Chapter 4

A few days had passed since Chuck's demonstration and the 'team' was starting to get antsy at the lack of information coming from the powers that be. To make matters worse, or at the very least more nerve-wracking, was that it was Friday. The whole Bartowski-Woodcomb family were off that day which meant that Family Dinner night was a go. During the rare moments that Chuck was at home, Ellie had been grilling him on Sarah's favorite foods, if she had allergies or aversions to any types of food. She was determined to make this meal as perfect as she could.

"Chuck," Ellie called as he walked past the kitchen, hoping that his swift pace would allow him to slip past his manic older sister.

He let out a soft groan before retracing his steps until he stood just outside of the archway to the kitchen where his sister stood, cookbook out on the counter, "Yeah, Sis?"

"Are you sure roast with vegetables is alright for dinner tomorrow?" She inquired, eyes darting from the cookbook to her brother, nervously, "I could make something else, there's still time for me to get something else, how does Sarah fell about salmon?"

"Ellie, you're spiraling," Chuck rolled his eyes, "The pot roast is fine, Morgan doesn't call it your magic pot roast for nothing. And you know I trust the little bearded man's opinion on any and all food not involved in 'Mystery Crisper.'"

Ellie rolled her eyes, "I just want it to be perfect. This is the girl you have been pining after for ten years."

"Ellie, I promise you, Sarah will like pretty much anything you make," Chuck assured his sister, "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get changed." He then set off down the hall to change out of his nerd herd uniform.

He had just pulled on his shirt when his phone began to ring and vibrate on his bedside table. Lifting the phone, he saw his girlfriend's name displayed, flipping open the phone, he smiled, "Hey beautiful; are you looking forward to tonight as much as I am?"

"Kinda, I'm a little nervous," She hedged, "But that's not the reason I called, Graham got your results back. He wants to have a conference call to go over the results. Can you meet at Casey's in about 20 minutes?"

"Yeah, I can do that," Chuck agreed, "Wait, where is Casey staying?"

"He moved into the two-story townhome that was vacant near the entrance to your courtyard." Sarah explained.

"That explains the team of movers that took over yesterday." Chuck murmured.

He heard Sarah chuckle over the line, "Yeah, that would have been it. I'll see you soon."

"Alright see you then." Chuck flipped his phone closed as the call disconnected. Walking into the kitchen, he saw his sister cutting up the vegetables for the roast. "Hey sis."

"Hey Sweetie," She smiled at him over her shoulder, "What can I help you with?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering if you could spare me for an hour or so," Chuck shrugged as he leaned up against the archway to the kitchen, "My new coworker, Casey moved in across the courtyard and wanted some help assembling some bookshelves. Shouldn't take too long."

"That should be fine," Ellie assured him, "This thing will take a couple hours to cook, just make sure you are back before Sarah gets here."

"Gotcha," Chuck nodded, "I promise to be back in time." He kissed his sister's cheek and headed out the door toward Casey's new place. When he knocked on the door, he was relieved to see Sarah answering the door rather than the gruff N.S.A. agent.

"Come on in, Chuck," She smiled up at him, leading him into Casey's sparsely decorated apartment. In the living area sat a recliner with a side table and a large screen television. Chuck was just about to comment on the bare-bones furnishings when the screen came to life showing a redheaded woman in a USAF Brigadier General's uniform who sat at a large oak desk. Behind her stood Langston Graham who was bent over slightly to be able to be seen by the camera.

"Good evening Major Casey, Agent Walker," The General greeted them, "Mr. Bartowski, allow me to introduce myself. I am General Diane Beckman, I am an assistant director with the N.S.A. specifically, I am the military liaison for the intersect project."

"It's very nice to meet you, General," Chuck replied congenially, only to earn a blank look from the two agency heads.

"You have caused quite a stir here in Washington," Beckman continued, "First downloading the intersect into yourself then your claims that you are an infamous hacker that the N.S.A. has been attempting to track down, unsuccessfully I might add, for nearly two decades."

"Our analysts at the C.I.A. as well as the N.S.A. have gone over the results of your evaluation," Graham jumped in, "They are convinced, some immediately so, that you are, indeed, the Piranha. That matter was settled within hours of your evaluation, the delay in getting back to you lay primarily with your and Agent Walker's allegations that you were unfairly expelled from Stanford."

Chuck waited for their verdict, his face doing nothing to hide the nerves he felt. "While we are still reviewing your transcripts and academic history, I personally reached out to Professor Fleming as he reports directly to me." Graham rolled his eyes, "To say he was evasive when questioned is an understatement. If his reaction is an indication, I'm inclined to believe that you were the victim of a plot to get you expelled, but if that is the case, I doubt he came up with the plan. In actuality, he may have been the means by which your expulsion was enacted, but not the source of the ploy."

"Oh boy," Chuck groaned.

Beckman and Graham paused a fraction of a second, not enough to be noticed by Chuck, but enough that it caught the attention of their subordinates. They had known someone in the not so distance past who used that turn of phrase fairly frequently, enough that it was frequently associated with them. Seeing as they had gone off grid over 15 years prior, neither agency head wanted to give it too much thought, brushing the phrase off as coincidence.

"Mr. Bartowski, based on these preliminary findings, we are prepared to offer you a position as a field analyst under the banner of the N.S.A," Beckman picked up the conversation once more, "This will be on a trial basis, and subject to review once the final results come back or when the Intersect is removed from your head, whichever comes first. No matter what, if we are able to remove the program, your position will be reviewed at that time. A formal employment offer will be extended to you along with legal documentation which you are to sign and return to Major Casey to be filed with the local field office."

"For the time being, you will continue to maintain your position at the BuyMore," Graham advised, "Major Casey will be joining you there as a member of the sales staff."

A disgruntled grunt could be heard from the N.S.A. agent which was met with a disapproving look from his superior officer, causing the man to quickly apologize.

"Furthermore, Mr. Bartowski, depending on the results of the inquiry as to the events surrounding our expulsion, you may need to complete your education, up and including retaking your final semester." General Beckman informed him, "This may also include having to relocate to Palo Alto for the duration of said semester. Agents Casey and Walker, this will mean you will be relocated with him. We will review your covers at that time, if relocation is deemed necessary."

"I understand," Chuck nodded, "Thank you for that, I appreciate it."

Beckman almost smiled at the younger man's earnest response, only her own spy training allowed her to keep her face neutral. Despite the way the man came into possession of the Intersect, she couldn't help but be impressed with him. It was clear from the reports she had received from Major Casey as well as the redacted version of Agent Walker's report that the C.I.A allowed her to see, that with or without the intersect he would have proven to be a skilled asset to the clandestine community. She only wished they'd figured out who he was before a particular C.I.A. recruit had taken it upon himself to disqualify Bartowski from consideration for project Omaha, which would have been the likely recruitment track connected to George Flemming at that point in time. If that were the case, the original intended recipient of the Intersect data base now had the programming downloaded in his head.

"Until we reach a final decision regarding Mr. Bartowski's utilization status on the team, none of you are to leave town," Beckman instructed, receiving head nods in triplicate as a response, "Very well, we will be in touch." With that, she disconnected the video link.

"That was rather abrupt," Chuck commented to his erstwhile handlers.

"She is a very busy woman, Bartowski, she doesn't have time for niceties," Casey grunted.

"Sad to say, it's a pretty typical behavior for the directorates of the clandestine agencies," Sarah shrugged, "Well I suppose all there is left to do is wait until the inquiry is completed and we receive the final decision of the review boards for Stanford, the C.I.A, and the N.S.A. Until then, we have a dinner we need to get to."

Chuck glanced at his watch, eyes widening in surprise when he realized how much time had passed in the briefing, "You're right, we probably should be on our way."

Casey, who had been invited just that morning, stated that he would be over in a little bit, as he had some things he needed to finish up in the apartment. Sarah was read to go, on their way out the door, she paused momentarily to grab a bottle of red wine from a shelf near the door. "My grandma always taught me it is polite to bring something for the hostess when invited to dinner." She explained at the curious look she received from her cover boyfriend.

Chuck nodded his understanding and led her across the courtyard and into his home. Ellie was still in the kitchen putting together some salad as she waited for the roast to finish baking. "Hey sis, look who I found wandering about near the fountain," He called as he shut the door behind himself and Sarah.

Ellie looked up at the sound of her brother's voice, eyes widening when she caught sight of the, beautiful was too tame of a word for her, woman on her brother's arm. Pausing to wipe her hands off on a kitchen towel, she walked toward the pair. "Sarah," Ellie smiled at the younger woman, "I'm so glad you could come!"

"Thank you for inviting me," Sarah returned Ellie's smile, "I've heard so many good things about your cooking." Almost as if remembering it was in her hands, she held the bottle of wine aloft between herself and Ellie, "I brought over some wine for you, I wasn't sure what you were making, but it's been my experience that a good Cabernet goes with pretty much anything."

"I wholeheartedly agree," Ellie beamed, accepting the wine from Sarah, "Chuck why don't you give her the five-cent tour while I finish the prep work? Devon ran to the store to pick up some rolls as I forgot to make any and don't have time now, he should be back soon and then we can eat."

"Sounds good," Chuck nodded and began to show Sarah around, starting in the living areas which encompassed the living room, dining room, and kitchen before leading her down the hall. He pointed out the bathroom and the door on the far end of the hall that led to Ellie and Awesome's room, before finally opening a door across and a few feet down from the bathroom. Of course, she had been in the room before, earlier that week when she tried to recover Chuck's computer, and briefly a few days before to help him select some clothes, but she hadn't really taken the time to really look around. A large king bed sat up against the wall to the side of the door. A bookshelf was along the adjacent wall over which hung a framed TRON poster. Next to the poster hung a corkboard upon which was mounted various badges and passes for ComiCon. In the corner was a computer desk which held nearly everything someone would need for a desktop computer, save the tower.

"Sorry about your computer, Charlie," Sarah gave him an apologetic smile when she noticed the computer desk, "They are currently trying to put together the best computer they can get for you, considering your considerable skills."

"Yeah, well, if it's all the same, I'd rather put together my own computer and be reimbursed for the expense." Chuck shrugged, "Might wind up being a little faster."

"You have a point, I'll run it by Graham in the morning. It's late in D.C. now." Sarah reply was answered with a comprehending nod from her not-so-cover boyfriend. Her gaze continued to sweep around the room until she noticed something she hadn't before. Sitting in a comfortable looking chair was his guitar, "You still have it?" She couldn't hide her excitement.

"Of course, I still have it," Chuck smiled, "Still play a little here and there, too. Gave up the flute once I got to college, but the guitar stuck with me. Besides a guitar is much cooler for a college guy to carry around than a flute case. Can you imagine the reaction I would have gotten when I rushed Gamma Delta Phi if I was still playing flute?"

"Wait, you were a frat guy?" Sarah's eyes widened in surprise.

"Where do you think I met Bryce?" Chuck challenged her, "Okay, maybe that isn't quite accurate, we met freshman year and rushed together."

"Bryce's idea, I'm guessing?" She snickered when Chuck gave a small shrug and nodded, "Figured. I can easily see Bryce as a frat guy. You a little less so."

"Actually, our frat was pretty well populated with nerds, Bryce and myself included," Chuck shrugged, "A lot of engineering and computer science guys. We weren't the typical jock frat stereotype that is perpetuated by movies and TV."

"Did you like it?" She asked, "I had already been recruited to the CIA by the time I was sent to Harvard…"

"Wait," Chuck interrupted, "You went to _Harvard_?"

"Yeah, that's where the agency sent me after Graham fast tracked my high school education." Sarah shrugged, "I earned a bachelor's in international Relations, with a minor in linguistics. My programs were pretty focus intensive, not to mention Graham had me running minor ops while I was in school. On top of which I was still a bit of a loner, so I never really had the time or opportunity to get involved with a sorority, so I'm just a bit curious about that kind of thing."

"It was like living in a dorm made up of all your best friends," Chuck shrugged, "I really liked it, at least I did until Bryce did what he did. I still talk with some of my old Frat buddies, despite my expulsion technically also excommunicating me from the frat, most of them refuse to speak to Bryce, or would if there had been a way to get a hold of him. No one believed his allegation that he found the test key under my bed, they were pretty much all of the mind that it was a setup. Something many of them stated they would attest to… had my expulsion gone through the tribunal the way it was supposed to."

"So, they didn't even follow policy for expulsions when you were kicked out?" Sarah's eyebrows raised.

"Nope," Chuck sighed, taking a seat on his bed, "From the moment I stepped into Fleming's office, was accused of cheating, informed of my expulsion, and forced to pack and vacate my room at the frat, was no more than 6 or 7 hours. I mean I woke up that morning a Stanford Engineering student who was on track to graduate in less than two months with high honors, and by midnight that same day I'd been expelled from school, packed up and evicted from my frat, and back in this room living with my sister wondering where things went wrong."

"Right now, I really wish Bryce wasn't already dead," Sarah groaned, sitting next to him and laying her head on his shoulder as she entwined the fingers of her right hand with that of his left to comfort him, "Because if anyone deserved a slow and painful death, he is a top contender only being barely beat out by Ryker, if only by a hair."

"I appreciated your righteous anger on my behalf," Chuck squeezed her hand, "But it would have made no difference. From what Director Graham and General Beckman said today, it's possible, that situation might be able to be rectified. Even if I do have to go back to finish the semester, this whole mess would still be worth it to me. Had Bryce not gotten me kicked me out and then sent me this thing, I would never have met you again."

"I hate that you are making sense with this," Sarah groaned, "Now I don't want to bring him back to life for the sole purpose of killing him again."

"Maybe we should focus these energies on more positive pursuits," Chuck suggested, causing Sarah to give him a questioning look. "For example, tracking down Ryker and bringing him to justice?"

"By any means necessary?" Sarah gave him a hopeful look.

"By legal-ish means," Chuck corrected.

"What's the '-ish?'" Sarah quirked an eyebrow.

"It may involve me, a computer with internet access, and a bit of the typety, typety." Chuck shrugged. "We should try to keep the operation as legal as possible so as to reduce any loopholes that might widen enough for him to slip through. If, and only if, capturing and incarcerating him becomes unfeasible, then we can entertain alternative means."

"And by alternate means you mean…" Sarah looked up at him.

"I will leave that to your discretion," Chuck admitted.

"I think you know what my choice would be," Sarah gave him a sly smile as she lifted the hem of her blue shirt just enough for the garter sheath attached to her thigh to be seen.

"I don't know if I am more scared or turned on right now," Chuck muttered.

"Maybe split the difference," Sarah quipped as she rose to her feet and, straddling his hips with her knees, sat herself down on his lap facing him as she wound her hands up into his hair and brought his lips down to hers.

"So hot," Chuck hummed, deepening the kiss as one arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer as his other hand rested just under the hem of her dress on the thigh not bearing the sheath.

"Hey Chuck…" A deep voice came from the door frame, humor lacing the words as the speaker saw what was going on, "Girl on top, awesome."

Chuck and Sarah paused their make-out session, Sarah resting her forehead on Chuck's shoulder muttering, in great detail, what she would like to do to the next person who got in the way of what she wanted. Chuck ran the hand that was holding her waist up and down her back to calm her down as he turned to his sister's boyfriend, "Was there something you needed, Devon?"

Devon's eyebrows shot up, Chuck never called him Devon unless he was serious or upset with him. "Uh, Elle said that dinner is just about ready, so you might want to start making your way to the living room, if you are done giving Sarah the, ahem, nickel tour. John just got here too, brought over quiche, he's a pretty awesome dude for a guy who communicates primarily in grunts. Is he former military? He looks like some of the veterans who are sent over from the VA on occasion."

"I think he's a marine reservist," Chuck shrugged, "Um, Awesome, do you mind stepping out so we can get ourselves straightened out a bit? I promise we'll be out in a minute."

"Right, of course," Devon nodded, "Just don't take too long. I mean I love your sister and all, but she scares me sometimes."

"Me too, Awesome, me too," Chuck agreed and watched as his ersatz brother-in-law exited the room, closing the door behind him, before he returned his attention to his girlfriend. "Baby as tempting as I know it is sometimes, you cannot kill, dismantle, or otherwise maim the members of my family."

"I know," Sarah huffed, climbing off her boyfriend's lap and straightening her dress and hair, "It just seems like whenever we get going there is some kind of interruption."

Almost as if on cue, a knock sounded on Chuck's bedroom window, causing them to turn and see Morgan opening the window to climb in, "Okay, that was just too perfect," Chuck snickered as he heard his girlfriend growl low in her throat, only to be calmed when he stood and pulled her into his arms, kissing her head to calm her down as he turned toward his best friend who had no idea how close to death he was treading. "I'm a little busy here, buddy, is there something I can help you with?"

"Well, I was just peddling by and smelled Ellies magic pot roast and thought I would join you guys." Morgan shrugged, stepping into the room.

"Morg, I don't think that is such a good idea," Chuck protested, "I mean this is kind of a 'meet the family' type dinner for Sarah and I and John Casey somehow got himself invited on top of it. Adding you to the mix may be a bit much."

"Right, of course," Morgan nodded as if understanding, "I'll just run it past Ellie," with that, he was out the door, making it clear he was so far off the mark, especially when Ellie's voice echoed through the house.

"Chuck!" She hollered from the kitchen, causing Chuck to roll his eyes.

"I guess that's my cue." He sighed and started toward the door, only to be stopped by Sarah who set his shirt to rights and pressed soft kiss to his lips.

"For luck," She explained before taking his hand and walking back to the main living area along side him to meet the night together.

When they got to the dining room, Ellie was clearly agitated, the hand holding her wine glass was clearly shaking. "What can I do for you, Elle?" Chuck feigned ignorance.

"You could start by explaining why the hobbit is in my home, begging to be fed, like a little bearded Oliver Twist." She growled.

"Sorry, sis, I tried to explain to him that this was a special dinner, but that only encouraged him to want to stay more," Chuck shrugged, "If you didn't make enough to be able to include him, I can try to send him on his way…"

He knew that would work, and it did as his sister huffed and rolled her eyes, directing Devon to grab a spare chair from the office and grabbed another place setting for the table. "Fine, he can stay, but just this once."

"Of course, Ellie," Chuck nodded, knowing that 'just this once' had already happened multiple times over the years without any sign of the events leading to such a decree, ceasing in the near future. The rest of the night passed without major incident. It was clear that Sarah had quickly been accepted by Ellie and Awesome into their little ragtag family. Although it was clear that Morgan was more than a little jealous of Chuck and Sarah's connection, but even he couldn't deny she was a good fit. John was even able to contribute to the conversation in actual words rather than the grunts he was rapidly becoming known for.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a long month for the team as well as the C.I.A. and N.S.A. heads they worked for. Graham had allowed Beckman full control of the team as he looked into the matter that led to the intersect's expulsion from Stanford and it took nearly two weeks to get Fleming to admit that the accusation of cheating that was made was a conspiracy that had been instigated by then agent-in-training Larkin. All in some misguided attempt at invalidating Mr. Bartowski's test scores to as to take him off the C.I.A.'s recruitment track. What made it worse was that Bartowski was the most promising candidate for the Omaha project.

Langston Graham had also been seeing the dailies and mission reports coming out of the newly established Burbank team. No one could deny their success rate, even if the way that success was brought about was unorthodox, at best. It still baffled him as to how Mr. Bartowski had avoided being killed by la Ciudad by claiming that he'd only gone to the art auction to impress a girl. There was also another side report informing them of information regarding a matter that was passed along to a grateful S.E.C. who had previously been having trouble tracking the embezzlement perpetrated by one Allan Waterman who had been successfully apprehended and was now awaiting trial. To think, they could have had access to this kind of information years ago was enough to make the usually stoic director want to exhume Larkin's body from wherever it now rested, and kill him again.

Even more impressive was how quickly the team in Burbank was able to apprehend an escaped asset, a gadget designer they'd employed for over a decade now, who had inexplicably snapped, killing his handlers. To say that sociopathic as an apt descriptor for the man would be underselling the point. Thankfully, Bartowski had managed to gain the asset's trust enough to figure out the man wasn't as sane and sheltered as he was trying to portray. Sure, things went sideways as they often do, but in the unique method the new ragtag team was known for, they were able to prevent a major catastrophe and arrest the asset once more. Instead of being sent back to a bunker, the man was now being held in a high security governmental psyche ward.

As impressed as he was with the team, it didn't negate the fact that a wrong had been perpetrated against Mr. Bartowski and Graham was determined to rectify it so the young man could be officially offered a contract, although he and Beckman were still debating over who would extend the contract. All that stood between them and the ability to officially make the offer is the ruling from the Dean of Students.

Graham had been sitting in his office when he received a contact signal from Stanford. Unfortunately, it wasn't the Dean as Graham had hoped, but an emergency beacon from none other than Professor Fleming. Seems the man couldn't help but make bad decisions as of late and had copied some intel and wans now going to ground. The closest team he had to campus was the Intersect team, and much as he would have preferred to send another team, the fact of the matter was they were the best team to send. Not only did Bartowski and Fleming know each other, but they were geographically the closest, and then you factor in their remarkable success rate and the decision had been made before it was even considered.

The C.I.A. Director let out a sigh as he dialed the number for Beckman to update her on the situation before calling Walker to inform her of the briefing. He knew he was bound to get some pushback from Mr. Bartowski, considering the unresolved issues involved, but he sincerely hoped that the younger man's handlers could keep him in line during the operation. What was helpful was that the campus was going to be swarmed with not only Stanford but UCLA student and alumni who were going to be there for the football game, which would give the team the cover they would need to be able to operate to their fullest potential.

* * *

"No, nope, not gonna happen," Chuck shook his head, "Good luck to you though."

"Oh, come on, Bro," Devon protested, "Wouldn't it be awesome to visit the 'ol alma matter?"

"No, Awesome, it would not," Chuck huffed, "They kicked me out for something that I didn't do, remember that?"

"Would you at least consider it?" Ellie pleaded with him.

"You only want to go so you aren't stuck alone in a van with Awesome and his frat buddies," Chuck countered.

"That's not…" She started only to be met with a flat look from her younger brother, "Okay, yes, fine, but I think it would be really good for you to go back. You used to love gloating when Stanford won."

"I'm not just interested in going, Elle," Chuck shook his head and walked off. As he entered the house, his phone lit up to show the smiling face of his favorite person. Her grin bringing one to his face as well. "Hi Jenny."

"Hey Charlie," He could tell by the tone of her voice something was up. "Can you meet us at Casey's in a half an hour?"

"Sure," Chuck nodded, making his way through the apartment to his room, "Is there something wrong?"

"I'm not sure, I just got a call from Graham informing us that he wanted to brief us on a situation that could use our attention."

"What like a mission?" Chuck gasped excitedly as he took a seat on his bed, "You're actually gonna let me go on a mission?"

"Don't get too excited," He could almost hear the rolling of her eyes, "It may just be a way to test your usefulness as an analyst. You could very well be stuck at a computer or in the van the whole time."

"Hey, I can do that," Chuck grinned, "Computers are my thing, Baby, and if we're in the van, I can make a great mix CD to help pass the time."

He could hear her giggle on the other end of the line, the sound music to his ears, "Slow down, just come to Casey's and hear what Graham and Beckman have for us before you get too excited."

"Fine," He let out an exaggerated sigh, "I'll see you in a half hour."

"I'll see you then, Charlie," With that, she hung up the phone.

Much to Chuck's relief, Awesome and Ellie had gone to the store to grab provisions for the upcoming weekend and the tailgating they were planning to do, which made getting over to Casey's without raising suspicion a bit easier. When he raised his hand to knock, the door flew open and a strong hand gripped his wrist and pulled him inside, slamming the door behind him.

"You're late, numb-nuts," Casey grunted.

"What do you mean late?" Chuck protested, "I was told a half an hour and I showed up in less time than that."

"You're late if you aren't here by the time the directors start the video call," The older man growled under his breath, nodding toward the monitor that showed Directors Graham and Beckman.

A moment later, the front door swung open and closed again as Sarah made her way into the apartment. She gave a small waive to Chuck before turning toward the monitor, "I'm sorry, Director, I thought you said a half an hour."

"I did," Graham nodded, raising an eyebrow for her to protest further. Once he was assured that none was coming, he continued on, "We received an emergency transmission from a company scientist in your area that we need you to follow up on." He then proceeded to play a recording of someone who identified himself as Glass Castle addressing someone using the code name Black Coat. The man went on to say he'd made a copy of some information and now someone was after him.

Chuck's eye's widened at the voice on the recording, "I know that voice. Isn't that Professor Fleming?"

"It is," Beckman confirmed, "We don't know what other idiotic venture he's gotten himself mixed up in, but whatever it is, we are trusting your team to find out."

"You are to head up to Stanford and make contact with Fleming, we will send you the coordinates of a few places he might be, most of them in and around Palo Alto." Graham informed them, "The game and associated activities should give you enough cover to be able to look around without suspicion."

"We do not anticipate, nor do we expect for, this to last the weekend," Beckman added, "However, accommodations have been secured for you should you need it. You will leave first thing tomorrow. We wish you luck." Without waiting for a response, the feed was cut.

"I'll go gas up the Vic," Casey grunted, "We will meet back her at 07:00."

"So, we're driving up?" Chuck questioned, "Wouldn't it be faster just to fly into San Francisco?"

"We are supposed to look like tailgaters," Sarah explained, "Driving will help cement that cover."

"I can't believe I have to go back there," Chuck groaned as he and Sarah made their way out of Casey's apartment and over to Chuck's to pack for the weekend, "The place where my future was unceremoniously ripped away."

"I know it's hard, but it's the job," Sarah gently reminded him. "Now come on, lets get you packed for a couple days. We really should put together a go bag for you, if this team becomes a more permanent thing."

"How about we get through this weekend first?" Chuck suggested, opening the Morgan Door and letting them into his room.

"Do you have any of your old Stanford stuff?" Sarah asked, looking around and not finding a stitch of crimson anywhere.

"Yeah, it's in a box in my closet, one sec," He went over to his walk-in closet and pulled down a large banker's box filled to the brim with and eclectic mix of items from shirts to banners, picture frames, and various miscellaneous items from his college days. "The box of despair." He tossed the box on the bed and started going through it.

A picture frame on the top caught his eye, it was him, Bryce, and a few of their frat buddies. "I thought I was really going somewhere back then, you know? I was doing great in my classes, I had friends, we were always up to something, having fun, and then it all just came crashing down on me."

"I'm sorry, Charlie," Sarah laid a gentle hand on his arm, "I know Graham is trying his hardest to make this right for you, or at least as right as it can be." She turned back to the box, picked up a small plastic card, and smiled. "Looking at this, I'm a little surprised I didn't recognize you right away."

Chuck looked over her shoulder at the Stanford ID she held in her hand and rolled his eyes, "It's like they deliberately try to take the worst picture of you possible."

"Oh, it's not that bad," Sarah protested, "I think you look cute."

"'Cute?'" Chuck scoffed, "Golly gee, thanks for making me feel like I'm eight."

Sarah gave him a meaningful look, "I think you're a bit more than that."

The teasing leer from his not-so-cover girlfriend made him blush and stammer a moment, something that caused Sarah's grin to widen exponentially. Finally, Chuck got his wits about him and took the card from her, tossing it back in the box. "I'm guessing you weren't really wanting my old ID or pictures from back then. What exactly were you hoping I would have in here?"

"Swag," Sarah shrugged, when Chuck gave her a questioning look, "Really, Charlie?" She scoffed, "Shirts, blankets, sweatshirts, fan gear… you know, swag."

Understanding bloomed over his face, "Oh, right. Yeah, I think I may still have a few t-shirts from the frat and Stanford, maybe a sweatshirt or two, but they aren't in this box, I think they're stored away, I just have to get into the porch closet." He got up to put the box back in his closet.

"Wait," Sarah reached in and grabbed his student ID, "This might come in handy," She pocketed the card which she would give to Casey later to reactivate in case they needed access to somewhere only students could gain access to.

"Okay?" Chuck gave her a bemused look before turning and putting the box back up on the top shelf of his closet. Wiping the dust from the box off on his jeans, he turned back to her, "I'm gonna go out and see if I can't find the other box."

"Sounds good," Sarah nodded and watched as he exited the room. While she waited, she pulled a small, black, duffel bag from his closet along with a couple pairs of jeans, as well as a couple shirts. She then went to his dresser and pulled out a couple pairs of boxers and socks along with a pair of pajama pants. She folded everything and put them into the duffel bag before heading into the bathroom. When she returned with his travel kit, Chuck was carrying a Rubbermaid bin down the hall toward the bedroom. She allowed him to pass and set the bin on the bed and removed the lid.

When he spotted her putting his travel kit into the duffel, he gave her an odd look, "I could have packed for myself, you know."

"Yeah, but I figured I would get the basics in there for you, then toss some of your Stanford swag in there, maybe steal a shirt or two for my own use." She shrugged, a cheeky grin on her face.

Chuck abandoned the bin and inspected the contents of the bag, "You even packed socks and underwear?" He chuckled, amusedly, "Even my ex wouldn't have done that."

"Well, that is probably part of the reason she is your ex," She teased.

"You mean aside from the fact she cheated on me in spectacular form," Chuck arched an eyebrow at her, "Oh and the more important fact that she wasn't you?"

"Both very good reasons," She smirked, walking over to the bin and combing through the contents. She eventually pulled out a couple Stanford shirts and a sweatshirt as well as another t-shirt and sweatshirt bearing the Greek letters of Chuck's fraternity. "Will these still fit you? I mean you have filled out a bit since high school."

Chuck looked over the shirts she'd pulled out, "The frat gear will still fit, those I got my last year and I haven't changed much since then." He then held up a cardinal red t-shirt with 'Stanford' written across the front in grey script, "This one I got when Ellie and Awesome took me up for my campus tour, so it would be too small now."

"Alright, I'll take that one, then," Sarah swiped the shirt out of his hand and held it up against herself, "Looks like it will fit me. For the record, this will be one of the few times you'll see me not wear my crimson at a university sporting event. I'm only wearing cardinal for you… and the op, but mainly for you."

"That's very kind and generous of you Miss Harvard alumna," Chuck teased, packing a larger Stanford t-shirt and sweatshirt in the duffel bag before reaching into the bin one more time and grabbing a grey Stanford sweatshirt and tossing it to Sarah, "There you go Jen, just in case you get cold while we are there. Just so you know, if we ever get the chance to visit our alma mater, I'll proudly make the sacrifice of wearing crimson for you."

"I appreciate that," She grinned, "So you're packed now, we should probably head back to my place to make sure my go bag has everything I need for this weekend. Graham or Beckman's administrative assistant should be making the arrangement for us. We do need to stop at Casey's before heading to my place, though."

"Why?" Chuck inquired, sipping his bag closed.

"I want to drop off your student ID to have him reactivate it, just in case." She shrugged, "So are you ready to go, Charlie?"

"As ready as I can be," He shrugged, shouldering his bag, "Lead the way, Jenny."


	6. Chapter 6

Ellie and Awesome were up and drinking coffee in their scrubs when Chuck came walking out of his room, duffel bag slung over his shoulder the next morning. They watched as he dropped the bag on the arm of the sofa and entered the kitchen pulling down two travel mugs, then pouring and doctoring up the coffee. After snapping the lids onto the containers, he walked over to the pantry and pulled out a couple strawberry oatmeal bars before collecting the travel mugs and returning to the table where he set the mugs on the table and slipped the oatmeal bars into the side pocket of his duffel.

"And just where are you goin?" Ellie eyed her brother as if trying to discern his answer before he gave it. Wherever this little trip of his was taking was clearly a bit embarrassing for him.

"Um," He cleared his throat, "Well, I kinda changed my mind about the football game… or rather, Sarah convinced me to reconsider going. I mentioned the fact you had asked me to go and she really wanted to see where I'd gone to school. Despite how it ended, the majority of my experience there was positive, and she's helping me to try to focus more on the good times I had there than that one terrible day. So, we're heading up a day early so I can show her around campus, maybe the frat if the new guys will let me in." He then smirked at his sister and her boyfriend, "Then we'll probably pretend we don't know you during the tailgating party in the quad then try not to rub it in your face too much when Stanford crushes your precious Bruins."

"Oh whatever," Ellie rolled her eyes.

"So, taking the lady to see the old alma mater?" Devon piped up, "Awesome."

"Yeah, but we want to be able to get up there while there's still light out," Chuck shrugged, "So I gotta get going, I'll see you tomorrow at some point, I'm sure." He shouldered his bag once more and collected the travel mugs before heading toward the front door, "Oh, and Awesome, make sure you double check the face paint your 'frat brahs' get, lest you have a repeat of last year."

"No kidding," Awesome huffed good naturedly, "Having to be at the hospital with my face matching my scrubs, not awesome."

"Wait a sec," Ellie got up from the table and gave her brother a hug, "Be safe getting up there, and …while you're there."

"Ellie!" Chuck blushed, "Not that it's any of your business, but I got it covered."

"Please God, I hope you aren't meaning just what you carry in your wallet," She pleaded with him.

"Of course not; what do you take me for?" He scoffed, "Besides I don't carry it around anymore. Besides, that thing is so old now, with my luck, Morgan would steal it and wind up getting himself and some poor girl in trouble after it fails and then try to blame me."

"Yeah," Ellie shivered at the thought of Morgan fathering a child, however accidentally, "Morgan with a kid is more than a little disturbing."

"Wow, not faith in the little bearded man," Chuck snickered, "I'll have you know, he's great with kids. You should see him with his cousins' kids, I can see him being a great dad someday… in the very far distant future."

A knock then sounded on the door, Ellie looked past the door before giving her brother one more hug, "I'm guessing that's probably Sarah. I'll see you up there. I love you little brother."

"Love you too, Sis," Chuck kissed his sister's cheek and gave her a warm smile before answering the door to reveal Sarah, who he kissed softly before handing her one of the travel mugs and following her out the door.

* * *

The drive up to Palo Alto was rather uneventful, Casey refused to let either Chuck or Sarah drive his precious Vic, which let them snuggle up in the back seat for the duration of the ride. Although, Casey nearly threw them out somewhere around Santa Barbara after one too many chauffer and 'Driving Miss Daisy' jokes were tossed his way by the yet undefined element in the vehicle, followed by the amused snickers of a the C.I.A. agent. After that, Chuck had broken out his iPod and earbuds, giving one side to Sarah while he placed the other in his own ear, before long the two had drifted off listening to one of Chuck's favorite Nina Simone songs.

They'd made a brief detour to Monterey for lunch, and so that Casey could check in with the local N.S.A. office which was housed at the Naval Postgraduate School before continuing on to Palo Alto. Before too long, Casey was pulling into the Palo Alto Sheraton, where they had two rooms booked. According to Beckman's assistant, they were to have two rooms, one with two double beds, and one with a king. However, when they arrived, they found that all the rooms with two doubles were sold out and the double room had been changed to a room with a king and a pull out. When Casey pulled them to the side to confer over what to do, Sarah suggested that she and Chuck share that room as their cover was boyfriend/girlfriend. Casey was more than happy to accept her proposal as it meant at least one less night for him to 'nerd sit.' He then returned to the desk, made sure that there were three keys for their room, one of which he pocketed, and one for his; he had no interest in them disturbing his 'moron free' time.

"Here," Casey tossed the key packet to Sarah, "Drop your gear and meet back here in 15 to head out."

"We'll see you then," Sarah nodded then, taking Chuck's hand, headed toward the elevator bay just off the main lobby to head up to their room. Upon entering, Chuck pulled out some of their monitoring equipment for the room while Sarah swept the room for bugs. Once the room was cleared and security had been established for the room, they headed back down to the lobby, pausing only once for Sarah to hang the 'do not disturb' sign on the door to their room. "Oh, and before I forget, this one is yours, don't lose it. Last thing we need is to have to ask Casey for another key to the room."

"Understood," Chuck nodded as he pulled his wallet out of his messenger bag and slipped the key into one of the card slots on the right side of the fold.

Once the team had met up again, a plan of action was quickly determined. Chuck and Sarah would, under the guise of alumni, would check out Fleming's office and the few possible other locations he might be on campus while Casey checked into his home in one of the Staff Housing sections adjacent to campus. The trio loaded into Casey's Vic and headed the few blocks to campus where Chuck and Sarah were dropped off near one of the admin buildings to make their way to the building housing The School of Humanities & Sciences, where Fleming had a ground floor office.

Luckily, there were no students in the area of the office when Chuck and Sarah got there, in part due to not many classes being held on Fridays and the fact that most of the students were gearing up for the weekend's events. The door was unlocked, something that surprised them until they saw how the small room had been ransacked. Thankfully, Fleming's computer was still there and intact. While Sarah searched the office for any clues as to what the professor had taken or where he might be, Chuck set to work hacking the computer to see if he couldn't figure out what files had been recently accessed or downloaded. Once he had gained access to the computer, he found that the system wipe had been initiated, but never completed. With a smirk, he cracked his knuckles and made quick work of recovering the files, copying them onto an external drive he'd brought with him for this very purpose.

"What are you doing?" Sarah demanded, when she saw him plug a cord into the computer.

"Someone did a half-assed job of wiping the drive," He shrugged, "I was able to recover the data and am now transferring it to an external drive to review later. Once that's done, I'll crash the system beyond all repair or recovery."

"Won't it take a while to do?" Sarah arched an eyebrow.

The computer beeped, causing Chuck's grin to widen, "Nope," He pulled the cable from the port, then hit a few keys on the computer, "This drive is one of my own design, it's near instantaneous. Only works for smaller systems like a personal computer, at least for now. Maybe I can eventually get a grant to develop one for use on larger systems, assuming the powers that be ever make up their mind about what to do with me." He slipped the drive into his bag and slipping the strap over his shoulder as he stood.

"I know what I would like to do," She grinned, pulling him to her by the front of his shirt. Rising up on her toes, she slid her free hand up his chest and shoulder before entwining her fingers in his hair and bringing his head closer to hers as she gave him an intense kiss that promised more later. She flashed him a wide smile as she stepped back, "Ready to go?"

Chuck was clearly dazed, clearing his throat and shaking his head brought him back to the present, "Erm, yeah, yes. Let's go." He took her offered hand and followed her out the door, making sure to lock and close the door behind them. They made quick work of checking his other campus haunts before heading across campus to faculty housing. They saw Casey's Vic parked up the street a bit and assumed he was either still in the house searching for clues or somewhere in the neighborhood searching for Fleming; that was if he hadn't found and detained the professor already.

As they approached Fleming's home, they saw a grey sedan pull up and a man wearing a baseball cap step out and walk to the back seat to pull a couple paper grocery bags from the back seat and head toward the side entrance of the home. Chuck recognized him right away and headed toward the man. Sarah caught what he was doing and quickly rounded a nearby home to see if she couldn't cut him off. Chuck quickly jogged up to the older man, "Professor Fleming," He quietly called to him.

The man hesitated only slightly and turned toward the voice, eyes widening before he took of on a run, only to be cut off by Sarah who had her side arm aimed at him. He stopped, dropping his bag as he raised his arm, not caring that egg yolks now spattered his shoes, as he audibly gulped. "Wha… who are you?"

By this time Chuck had caught up to them and had walked over to stand beside Sarah, "Professor, I don't know if you remember me, but…"

"Bartowski, right?" The professor wrinkled his brow in concentration, "Charles Bartowski?"

"I guess you do remember me," Chuck nodded in amazement, "Then again, I guess it's not every day you expel someone over trumped up charges of academic misconduct."

"You have to believe that was not my choice my hands were tied," Fleming protested.

"More than just your hands will be tied if you don't tell us what we need to know," Casey, who had heard Chuck's conversation with the professor, emerged from the side door of the house and aimed his own weapon at the man from his perch on the porch.

"We really thought we were doing what was best," The professor continued.

"Who is 'we?'" Chuck pressed.

"I – I can't say," Fleming's eyes darted from Chuck to Sarah, Casey, and back to Chuck, who was giving him a searching look.

"You and Agent Larkin, perhaps?" Chuck arched an eyebrow.

"I – Wait, you know Mr. Larkin was in the C.I.A?" The professor's eyes widened in surprise.

"If I hadn't, I would now," Chuck scoffed, "What I would like to know is why."

"Um, is there any way you could ask the young lady and the man on my porch to lower their weapons?" Flemming asked nervously.

"I could, but I can't promise that they will," Chuck shrugged before turning his gaze to Casey and Sarah and nodding slightly. The two of them lowered their weapons but stood at the ready in case the professor tried to run again. "Now, Glass Castle," He noticed the nervous look on the older man's face upon the use of the codename, "Who is Black Coat and what files did you take?"

The professor stammered a bit before sighing, "So you wound up in the C.I.A. after all, the director reaching out to me makes sense now. He was vetting you."

"Something like that," Chuck gave a non-committal shrug, "Now who or what is Black Coat and what did you take?"

"Black Coat is Larkin," Fleming gave them a confused look, "If he didn't send you, who did?"

"Graham," Chuck stated simply, "He intercepted your signal. I hate to break it to you, but Larkin is dead, he was killed a couple months ago. Now the data."

"It's in a dead drop we use," Fleming sighed, reaching into his pocket, which caused Casey and Sarah to raise their weapons once more. "I'm just reaching for a paper in my pocket."

"Two fingers," Casey growled the order, "Slowly."

Fleming nodded and slowly removed a strip of paper, holding it out for Chuck to take and look over.

"What is it, Chuck?" Sarah asked, her eyes and gun still focused on Fleming.

"A code of some sort," Chuck examined the paper again before it dawned on him what it was, "It's a call number for a book in one of the libraries on campus." He checked his watch, "Which is closing soon."

"Bartowski, Walker, you find the book," Casey directed, "I'll babysit the prof until back up arrives."

Chuck and Sarah nodded their understanding of the direction and headed off while Casey descended from his perch and zip tied the professor's hands before leading them into the house until a cleaner team could come collect him.

It was 20 minutes until closing when Chuck and Sarah arrived at the campus library. Chuck used his newly reactivated ID and let them into the building leading Sarah quickly up to the third floor where the reference section was located. As they drew closer to the section listed on the slip of paper, memories flooded Chuck's brain, games of 'gotcha' with his frat buddies until it was just Bryce and himself trying to one-up each other in the game of skill and tactics. The two young men had been pretty evenly matched, although all things being equal, Chuck was the more skilled of the two. Many of the times Bryce had triumphed over him had involved cheating or deception beyond the usual rules of the game. Rounding the corner of the stacks they came to the section dedicated to gynecological studies and found the book with the matching call number to the slip.

Sarah pulled out the book and flipped through the pages, not sure what she was looking for. Reaching the end of the book, she shook her head at Chuck who pulled another book which bore the same call number. This was repeated a couple more times, every time resulting in them coming up empty. Defeated, they leaned up against the wall.

"Well, that was a waste of time," Sarah sighed, "Do you think someone got to it before us or maybe Fleming lied to us?"

"I don't know," Chuck took in the area in which he stood. Suddenly a memory from one of the last times he'd payed 'gotcha' came back to him, "Wait, maybe what we are looking for wasn't a book, maybe the call number was just a marker to indicate where something might be hidden. We used to play this game were we would chase each other down with nerf guns. Bryce and I were the best, I seem to remember there was this one time we were in this area, he was out of ammo and had raised his hands to surrender. However, instead of letting me claim victory, he grabbed another dart from under…" He felt up under the shelves above and below the book until he found a small hinge and grinned, "The shelf," He opened the compartment to reveal a case with a small CD disk and pulled it out showing it to Sarah, "Gotcha." He grinned.

Sarah couldn't help it; she leapt into his arms and gave him a kiss that made him a little weak in the knees before the rest of him caught up and allowed himself to be lost in the kiss. "My boyfriend is so clever." She smiled against his lips as he backed her up against a nearby wall, "It's a good thing I find his mind incredibly sexy."

"Mr. Bartowski!" They were interrupted by a heavy set, balding, middle-aged man storming up to them. "We have rules about appropriate conduct in the library. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you and your lady friend to leave."

Chuck and Sarah had the good sense to look contrite as they apologized and made their way out of the building laughing at being reprimanded like a couple of teenagers necking under the bleachers. It was just about sunset as they emerged from the stone building. Sarah called Casey to update him on what they had found and was informed that Fleming had been collected and Casey had returned to the hotel to indulge in some scotch and a WW1 documentary he had been wanting to catch.

"Well, the hotel isn't that far away, maybe a mile or so, we could walk it easy," Chuck suggested, "And it's not too late, I can still show you around, if you like."

"I would love that," Sarah smiled up at him as she linked her arm though his, "Lead on, Charlie."

"As you wish, Jenny," Chuck smiled as they made their way across campus, Chuck stopping occasionally to point out something or another. They had agreed to wait to check out Chuck's old Frat house until the next day, figuring it would be easier to gain access to the house during the festivities in which the houses were open to alumni and their families. They were just walking near the admin building housing the offices of the Dean of Students, Dean of Engineering, and the Provost when they heard Chuck's name being called.

"Mr. Bartowski!" They turned to find an older man with greying hair and a suit descending the stairs of the admin building, "May I have a moment of your time?"

"Dean Winters?" Chuck gave the older man a surprised look before turning to Sarah and quickly explaining that the man was the Dean over the Engineering program and had, with only Bryce's and Fleming's testimony, been the one to expel him. He saw the anger flicker across Sarah's face and her body tense as if coiling to spring at the man. However, one touch on her shoulder from her boyfriend calmed her enough to at least hear the older man out before attacking. "Is there a problem? I mean I know I was expelled, but I wasn't aware of anything that would bar me from campus."

"No, you're not in trouble, quite the opposite, actually," The older man assured him, "I was going to call you on Monday, but seeing as you are here, would you and your lovely companion care to follow me inside? I think you will like what I have to say."

Chuck and Sarah shared a look silently communicating with one another before turning back to the older man and nodding their agreement. "Excellent," Dean Winters smiled warmly, climbing the stairs once more and opening the door for them. He led them down the hall and up to the offices of the executive board. Opening a conference room door, he gestured for them to take a seat before excusing himself for a few minutes.

The couple shared a confused look before taking their seats at the small conference table, their chairs scooted close together, knees touching under the table. Sarah felt Chuck bouncing his left knee nervously as they waited and laid her hand over his thigh to calm the nervous motion. Chuck gave her a grateful smile and took her right hand in his left as the door swung open again, Dean Winters was followed by an austere looking woman with dark hair cut in a fashionable but practical shoulder-length style. She held a large mailing envelope as well as a standard letter sized envelope held against her body with one hand and a briefcase in the other. She laid the envelopes on the table and set the briefcase on the chair beside her as she and Dean Winters took their seats.

When Sarah gave her boyfriend a questioning look, he informed her, under his breath, that the woman was the Vice President and General Counsel for the university. Once all were seated, the Vice President spoke up, "I think we can all agree it was most fortuitus that you were on campus this weekend. At the very least it saved us a trip," She smiled at the younger couple as she slid the envelopes, the larger mailer on the bottom with the standard letter-sized envelop sitting on top of it, over to rest in front of Chuck. "Mr. Bartowski, it has come to our attention that you were erroneously expelled from this university. To make matters worse, the decision was reached without the proper procedures such as a quorum to weigh the facts. If you would please open the larger of the two envelopes?"

Chuck gave the older woman a curious look as he pulled the tab closure on the stiff mailing envelope and extracted an 11"x14" piece of parchment. His eyes drifted over the wording indicating that he had been awarded his dual bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and Computer Science with distinction. His eyes widened in shock as he looked at his girlfriend, who was beaming with pride, then over to the two university administrators who wore similar pleased and hopeful looks upon their faces. "I graduated?" He whispered.

"Yes," Winters nodded, "Based on your exemplary work and progress in the classes, many of your professors even acknowledged you were ahead of the rest of the class in several cases, we decided to treat your mid-term results and your final exams render your course scores from them."

"Mr. Bartowski, if you would please open the smaller envelope," The older woman nodded toward the unopened envelope still sitting on the table before Chuck and Sarah. Chuck carefully sipped his degree back in its folder and set it aside before slipping his finger under the corner of the flap and ripping the envelope open along the top seam. He pulled out a paper and a check. "The letter is one of apology from the university and administrative faculty for failing you when the accusations were brought up. Professor Fleming will be reprimanded, and his tenure revoked and Mr. Larkin, who was also party to this injustice will be stripped of his degree posthumously. Additionally, if you decided to pursue a graduate degree, we are willing to offer you a full-ride scholarship. This will stand if you decide to pursue a higher degree at another institution, and we can understand if you are hesitant to continue your education with us."

"Wow," Chuck sighed, "I don't know what to say. Well, aside from thank you, of course, for your generous offer. I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment, so I'll have to get back to you about continuing on, but I am grateful for the opportunity to do so."

"If I'm being honest," Winters broke in, "I honestly hope you do compete your graduate work here. I know you were one of our tutors on campus as well as being top of your class. It would be my honor to offer you a faculty posting, pending receiving your Masters, and perhaps even your Doctorate, degree."

"I…" Chuck stammered, at a loss for words, "That would be amazing…"

"It is the least we can do," The Vice President assured him, "There was also a check in the envelope for $500,000. It is what we estimated your lost wages would be plus reparation for damages and defamation of character."

Chuck was absolutely gob smacked by everything he had heard. Picking up the check and looking at the amount written in the amount box, still struggling to believe that it was, in fact, real.

"Of course, in order to keep the check, you will need to sign documentation stating that you will not sue the University and accept this check in lieu of a settlement." The Vice President advised.

Chuck shook his head, "I wouldn't sue any way, I'm not that kind of person. I mean this is honestly more than I feel I deserve. I would have been happy with just my degrees." He looked at Sarah who was still smiling at him, proudly, "Give me the forms, I'll sign what ever you need from me."

"I thought you might say that," The older woman smiled at him and pulled a couple papers from her briefcase. She went over the documents with Chuck, answering any questions he might have as he looked them over, knowing he should read the documents before signing anything. Finding the terms amenable, he took the pen the General Counsel offered him and quickly signed his name before sliding the documents and the pen back to the older woman.

"Well, that about does it," The Vice President's relieved smile was contagious, spreading rapidly to the other three occupants of the room. "We appreciate your understanding in this whole matter, Mr. Bartowski."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Chuck nodded, extending his right hand to shake the older woman's over the table before turning to the dean, "And thank you, Dean Winters."

"It was my pleasure, Mr. Bartowski," The dean nodded, "Another thing to consider if you do decide to come back, we do have family housing if you and your wife don't want to live off campus.

Chuck and Sarah shared a look, but didn't contradict the older man's assumption, figuring it would come in handy if they needed to use it as a cover on campus. "Thank you, sir. We do appreciate all that you've done for me, but it is getting late and you caught us just as we were heading back to our hotel and we really would like to get back to rest up for the festivities tomorrow."

"Of course," Dean Winters nodded, "I'll walk you out."

The young couple followed the older man out, Chuck had placed the smaller envelope, with the exception of the check, which was securely in his wallet, in the larger one and had tucked the larger envelope into his messenger bag. His left hand still held Sarah's firmly as they made their way to the exit doors. After one last round of handshakes and 'thank yous,' the younger couple set out on their short walk back to their hotel room.

* * *

Once they were back in their room, Chuck only had enough time to set his messenger bag on the sofa before Sarah jumped on him, "Oh my God, Charlie! You did it!" She grinned down at him, the height variation coming from the fact she had wrapped her legs around his waist and arms around his shoulders, while her boyfriend had one arm holding her butt, an the other wrapped securely around her waist to hold her up. She gave him a deep kiss, "I am so proud of you, I could burst. I can't wait until tomorrow when we can tell Ellie!"

"I can still hardly believe it!" Chuck grinned into the kisses his girlfriend was giving him, "I mean, I kinda can. I know Director Graham was trying to make things right, but I was still expecting to have to come back in the spring to retake my last semester."

"Well, I think this calls for a nice dinner." Sarah declared, shimmying down from her perch until her feet were back on the ground, "Pick a place and we'll go."

"Honestly, I'd much rather get room service and make this a two-person celebration for tonight." Chuck shrugged.

"I think I can manage that," She smiled, crossing to the guest assistance book and flipping to the page which held the room service menu, "I'm still ordering champagne, we can't properly celebrate without it."

"I agree," He nodded, walking over to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the side of her neck as he looked over the menu, eventually settling on the filet mignon with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes while Sarah ordered the salmon fillet with rice pilaf. While they waited for their dinner to be delivered, they snuggled up on the bed as Chuck flipped through the channels before settling on a young adult sci-fi show that aired on an ABC affiliate revolving around a young man who had no memory of who he is who is taken in by family in a suburb of Seattle.

The show was just wrapping up when they heard a knock on their door indicating that their food had arrived. Chuck tipped the server generously, handed the tray of food to Sarah to take to the table, and signed the check while she set the table and poured the wine. "You know that show wasn't very realistic…" She handed him a flute of champagne.

"Which is why it is science _fiction_, Jen," Chuck gave her an amused look, "Besides you're really one to talk, you're the one who is dating a guy who downloaded a governmental database into his head and is essentially a walking computer."

"Good point," She nodded her acquiescence before raising her glass, "Here's to you Charlie! Congratulations on finally receiving your degree. May you be successful, happy, and satisfied with your life. I hope you get everything you ever wanted; I love you."

"My academic record has been fixed, my reputation restored, and I somehow managed to convince the more wonderful, talented, and am amazing woman to love a nerd like me." Chuck smiled down at her, taking her free hand in his own and kissing her knuckles, "I love you too, Jenny, so here is to our future, wherever it may lead us." He clinked his glass to hers and they both took a sip.

Sarah turned off most of the lights in the room, except the one over the table, which was on a dimmer switch, allowing her to lower to a more romantic glow. Chuck held her chair out for her, sliding it in as she took her seat before he rounded the table to take his seat and top off their wine glasses. Their meal was amazing, and just as enjoyable as going to a fancy restaurant. They finished off the meal with a dessert of molten chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce that Sarah had ordered on a whim and savored every bite they fed each other, the pleasurable noises emanating from Sarah's mouth bringing a smile to Chuck's face and desire to build in his lower stomach.

After putting their dirty dishes outside their door to be collected, Chuck turned back to his girlfriend and gave her a slow, sensual kiss. "It's getting late, and we should probably get to bed soon. We have a full day tomorrow and we should probably debrief Director Graham and General Beckman in the morning about the events of this afternoon."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Sarah agreed, slowly stepping out of his arms and going to her bag to collect a few things before ducking into the bathroom while Chuck changed in the room. Chuck was reclined on the bed, sitting on top of the covers in a plain t-shirt and a pair of grey pajama pants when Sarah emerged from the bathroom. Her face had been scrubbed of all make up, her hair was down around her shoulders and she wore one of the hotel robes which hid whatever sleepwear she had on. She climbed up onto the bed and snuggled into her boyfriend's side, smiling as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head.

They sat, enjoying this time together before Sarah spoke up, "Chuck?"

"Hmm?"

"I know we talked about taking things slow," She started hesitantly, unsure how she would be received, "And we've been back together for a while now… I know it hasn't been very long in the grand scheme of things, but at the same time, it seems like we've been together for a long time."

"Jenny," Chuck turned to look at Sarah who looked up at him with nervous excitement, "What are you saying?"

"I think… no, I know I'm ready," She looked up at him shyly, he was the only one she'd ever allowed herself to be vulnerable around. "I mean, if you are ready…"

Chuck smiled warmly down at her, "You know, you don't have to do this," He assured her, "The dinner and champagne were enough celebration for me." He noticed the slightly dejected look on her face, "Don't get me wrong, I _really_ want to, I do, I just want to do it for the right reasons. I don't want to rush into that kind of relationship."

"Charlie," Sarah got up on her knees and took his face in her hands, "Whether or not you had received your diploma this weekend, we would still be having this conversation. Do you understand me?" Chuck nodded, "Good. Now, how about we just start with this," She shifted to straddle his legs and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, "And see where it goes. If we wind up making love, that would be wonderful, but if we don't, that's okay too."

"I think I can live with that," Chuck grinned, wrapping one arm around her waist to pull her close to him, and tangling his other hand in her hair as he returned her kisses with equal fervor. Before long, his shirt was on the floor next to the bed and he was deftly releasing the belt of her robe.

Sliding the material off her shoulders, he found she was wearing his Stanford t-shirt and a simple pair of panties, "That has got to be the sexiest thing I've ever seen," He whispered, tossing the robe to join his shirt on the floor before diving back into their make out session. Slipping his hand up the shirt, he found his fingers unhindered by anything other than the shirt, and knew he'd hit his mark as his thumb brushed over the tip of her breast, causing her to gasp into his mouth. He grinned and turned them over until she was laying against the pillows and he was hovering over her, peppering kisses over her jaw and down her neck before slipping his other hand under the shirt and lifting it clear of her body until she was laying beneath him in nothing but her panties.

Noticing the disparity between their states of dress, Sarah began to push at his pajama pants with her feet, nearly taking his boxers with them. Once the pants had joined the rest of the accumulating pile of discarded clothing, they continued their make out session. She could feel him pushing against her, the friction driving her crazy as his firm, but gentle hands continued to dance across her body with the same confidence as his fingers played across the frets and strings of his guitar, causing her to moan in pleasure. It was clear they were both wanting the same thing, but much to her frustration and joy, he paused, his fingers playing with the waistband of her panties seeking permission.

When he saw the frantic nod from his girlfriend, he removed the last barrier between himself and seeing all of her. She was so beautiful, especially in the soft moonlight streaming through the window of their room. Tossing her panties to the side, he slowly kissed up the inside of her legs starting at the knee and switching every so often, reveling in her scent until he could not longer help but taste her, his grin threatening to split his face as he heard her sharp intake of breath as she rocked into him, silently begging him to continue. He lovingly obliged, thrilling in the mewling sounds she made as he brought her to the edge and backed off a few times before she was begging him to take her over the edge. He could feel her pulse and taste her release as she came down from her high. He loved the way she shivered under his touch as he slowly kissed his way up her body before giving her a long slow kiss, allowing her to get her breathing back under control and calm down so she didn't go into sensory overload.

After she'd sufficiently recovered, she flipped them over and quickly freed him of his boxers. She tested him against her hand, reveling in the feel of him, the warm, velvety skin, and the sight of him caused butterflies of excited anticipation to flutter in her belly. She stroked him a few times as she tasted him, taking her time as he had until it was clear he wouldn't be able to take much more.

"Side table," He groaned. She smiled and reached over to the drawer, with drawing a small foil packet. Before she could open it, his eyes opened, locking onto hers, his hands gently grasping her wrists, "Are you sure, once we do this, there's no going back."

"I'm sure," She smiled at him, "I want this, I want you."

He nodded in acknowledgement as she opened the package. There were no words for the emotions, the sensations when they finally came together, the last piece of connection they had been waiting nearly a decade to find. Chuck couldn't help but smile at the look on his girlfriend's face as they made love for the first time of an infinite number yet to come. He was also glad that Casey's room was a floor down and on the other end of the building, it was a good thing to as they held nothing back in expressing themselves to each other and the world around them.

As they came down from their mutual high and snuggled together for a night of well-deserved rest, whispering affirmations of love and devotion to each other as they rested in each other's arms. The only one thought on either of their minds as they slowly drifted off to sleep was _perfect._


	7. Chapter 7

The slight dipping movement of the bed along with the hazy light coming through a small gab in the curtains awoke Sarah who began to stretch as she felt her boyfriend's still naked form cozy up behind her and enfold her into his arms. She smiled as she felt him pressing warm kissed along her neck and shoulders, causing goosepimples to spread down her back and legs.

"Good morning, Beautiful," Chuck hummed in her ear, "How'd you sleep?"

"Surprisingly well," She rolled over in his arms so she could look up at him, "Slept straight through the night for the first time in a long time."

"So, what you're saying is that the sex tuckered you out," He teased.

"The sex may have had something to do with it," She smiled up at him, "But I think it had more to do with the fact that I had someone at my back, literally, that I could trust."

"I love that my kick ass ninja spy girl is comfortable enough with me to be the little spoon." Chuck kissed the tip of her nose. "I like that you can let yourself be vulnerable with me."

"You make it easy to do," Sarah sighed and snuggled into his chest. "Where did you go just now?"

"I didn't go anywhere," Chuck gave her a confused look.

"I felt you get back into bed as I was waking up," She pointed out, looking up at him.

"Oh, right," He nodded slightly, "I was making, or rather unmaking, the pull-out. I figure Casey knows or at least suspects we are the real deal. You have to admit we are terrible at remembering it is supposed to appear like a cover in front of him and your bosses."

"We kinda are," She giggled, "At least as far as Casey goes. I don't think we've slipped up in front of the big bosses, at least not yet."

"True," Chuck agreed, "Anyway, I figured, we should at least make it look like we are going along with the cover for Casey's sake. So, when I slipped out of bed to answer the call of nature, I pulled out the sofa bed, laid down in it – super uncomfortable, by the way – then got back up again, tossing the sheets and blanket over like I'd slept there all night. I also swapped my pillow I used last night with the spare from the closet so that it had my head impression on it, just in case the other pillow didn't look used enough."

"You really thought that out," Sarah chuckled at him, "Very thorough, too. Although, I'm sure Casey would understand if we shared the bed so that it doesn't look too suspicious to the housekeepers."

"You make a good point," Chuck nodded wisely.

"I tend to do that," She answered smartly, "Speaking of good points, I don't think this bed looks used enough to have been shared by a very amorous couple in love."

Chuck looked down her blanket covered body, over the bed, then back up to meet her eyes, "You just might be right." He hummed thoughtfully, "And just what do you propose we do about that, Jenny?"

"I may have a few ideas," She gave him a mischievous look, one he mirrored as he lowered his head and began to kiss her deeply. She saw him grin widely as he lowered the covers to take in the sight of her in the early morning light.

"Well, at least we know we were on the same page with that," He gave her a wicked grin, "Saves us so much time without having to worry about the undressing."

"And if you are really good, maybe I'll let you see some of my exciting underwear," She smirked up at him.

"Well, I'm not much for spanking, but I'm pretty sure I can help you out with the final part of the 'punishment' for lighting the grail-shaped beacon, Fair Zoot." He teased as he began kissing his way down her body.

Some, very perilously thrilling, time later, they rolled out of bed and into the bathroom. Figuring that it would be faster and save money, however misguided that assumption was, they chose to shower together. Of course, this was so that they could make sure that the areas their partner couldn't reach, and a few that they could, were sufficiently clean, many times over in some cases. Chuck had just finished getting dressed, his curls still damp when a knock sounded on the door.

Sarah was still in the bathroom, drying her hair so he got her attention over the noise of the hairdryer to let her know that he was going to get the door. She turned off the loud machine long enough to tell him to check who it was first, before going back to drying her hair.

Chuck, despite his snarky reply that his sister had taught him about stranger danger and answering the door to unknown people, quickly checked through the peephole before answering the door to Casey who was holding a laptop case and looking slightly agitated over the fact that he'd had to knock more than once to be allowed entrance to the room. Had he needed to knock a third time, he would have used his own key, no matter how decent the pair may have been at that moment.

The major made a quick inventory of the room, taking in the very mussed bed, and slightly rumpled pullout and tried not to scoff at the attempt at maintaining the cover. As if he didn't already know that they were mixing their chocolate and peanut butter… which, by the look of the large bed may have been a recent development. "Where's Walker?" He demanded.

"And a very good morning to you, too, Casey," Chuck snarked, only to be answered by a low growl from the older man. "She's in the bathroom, drying her hair."

"And you would know this how?" Casey challenged.

"First off, I have a sister, I know what a hairdryer sounds like," Chuck rolled his eyes, "Secondly, she has the door open, it doesn't take a genius to see she is doing her hair."

The men heard the sound of a brush being set down on the side of the sink moments before Sarah emerged, her hair caught up in a ponytail that curled down her back, soft make up that complemented the grey and crimson t-shirt she wore with dark jeans. "Good morning, Casey," She nodded to the man as she made her way across the room to grab a pair of socks from her luggage along with a pair black converse that were a low-top variation of the shoes her boyfriend was wearing, something that didn't escape either man's notice. "Is there something we can do for you?" She inquired, taking a seat on the side of the pull-out and quickly tying her shoes.

"Beckman and Graham want a debrief," He stated simply, "After that, you two can go immerse yourselves in that hullabaloo out there," He gestured vaguely toward where the campus was.

"Awe," Sarah mocked, "Don't want to join us, Casey?"

Chuck took in the older man's outfit, dark wash jeans, a black t-shirt, and a pair of black combat boots, "Probably a good idea if he stays behind, he looks like he's rooting for Death."

Sarah did her best to hide her snicker as Casey growled at the glib comment. "As soon as you tidy this poor excuse for quarters, we will start the call. They are expecting contact in 20 minutes." He advised.

Chuck and Sarah nodded before quickly setting to remaking both beds, stowing their luggage, and putting the room back to rights as Casey pulled out his tactical laptop and got the secure uplink set up. 15 minutes later, the team was assembled, and the call was initiated. The debrief didn't last long, covering the apprehension of both Fleming and the intel. Fleming was being held at the NSA stating in Monterey and would travel back with them to LA where a C.I.A. escort team would take him, and the disk that was recovered, back to Langley.

As the call was coming to a close, Sarah interrupted, "There is one more thing," She cast a quick look to Chuck, who caught the briefest look of pride and love in her eyes, before turning back to the monitor, "On our way off campus last night, Chu, erm Mr. Bartowski and I were stopped by the Dean of the Engineering college as well as the Vice President of the University. I am happy to report that Mr. Bartowski has been awarded his dual bachelor's degrees. I am not sure how that will influence your decisions as to his status with the team or our agencies, but I thought you should be updated on that front."

"Thank you for the update, Agent Walker," Graham nodded to his protégé, "And congratulations, Mr. Bartowski. I wish to sincerely apologize for the portion of the situation that was perpetrated by the personnel within my agency."

"Thank you, sir," Chuck nodded graciously.

"Now, it is my understanding that you and Agent Walker are meant to join the festivities on campus to protect your cover?" Graham looked at the younger two members of the team.

"Yes sir," Sarah nodded, "His sister and her boyfriend will be meeting us on campus in a little while. Apparently, there is a bit of a rivalry between the two schools."

"Talk to me after you've experienced the Army/Navy game," Casey grumbled, but the rest ignored him.

"Very well," Graham nodded, "Enjoy the game, but I strongly suggest keeping you lines of communication open, just in case."

"Of course, sir," Sarah acknowledged.

"Do you have anything else to add?" Graham deferred to Beckman.

"I have nothing further, aside to say, congratulations Mr. Bartowski," The austere woman responded.

"Thank you, ma'am," Chuck nodded.

They saw Beckman hit a button on her keyboard and the screen went blank, indicating the end of the communication. Casey quickly packed up the laptop, reiterated that they should keep their phones and watches on them at all times, then left the room.

"Shall we go share the good news with your sister?" Sarah turned back to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Chuck checked his watch quickly and shook his head, "They won't be here for at least another hour or so, we could go check out the frat while we're waiting, if you like?"

Sarah smiled up at him, "I would love that," She rose up on her toes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips that he happily returned.

"We should probably take our sweatshirts with us, just in case." He suggested, "It can get a little chilly if the game goes late."

"Probably a good idea," She agreed, going to her suitcase and pulling out the Stanford sweatshirt that Chuck had given her and tossing it to him to add to the rucksack he was already stuffing a blanket and his own sweatshirt into. He quickly double checked that the bag had all they would need for the day. Once the check was complete, Chuck swung the bag over his shoulder and offered his other hand to his girlfriend in silent invitation to join him.

* * *

"Welcome to Gamma Delta Phi," Chuck gestured to the large three-story house with large pillars holding up the overhang that shaded the front porch. There were young men and women congregating in small clusters chatting, playing games, and generally enjoying themselves as they roamed over the lawns and in and out of the houses that lined the block. Chuck took Sarah's hand in his own as he looked around for a familiar face, smiling as he recognized one of the guys he still stayed in contact with. "Come on, there's someone I want you to meet." The pair walked up to a man who looked to be around Chuck's age with green eyes, light brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He was talking with a couple of their friends from their college days, holding a red cup in one hand while his other arm was looped over the shoulder of a young woman a couple years younger than him with tan skin and long black hair.

The pair was splitting their time between the conversation and smiling at each other. It only took a moment for the man to notice Chuck and Sarah, "Chuck!" The man grinned widely at the newcomers, "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Ellie and Awesome mentioned that they were coming up for the game and insisted we join them." Chuck shrugged.

The young man looked around for the mentioned pair before turning back to his friend, "Where are they?"

"We had some work stuff to take care of up here yesterday, so we came up a day early," Chuck explained, "Sarah, I would like you to meet my very good friend Joseph Richardson and his wife, Lynn. Joe, Lynn, this is Sarah." He gave his girlfriend a loving look.

"It's very nice to meet you, Sarah," Lynn was the first to respond, shaking Sarah's hand warmly, "I wish I could say I've heard all about you, but someone," She shot a teasingly chastising look toward her husband's friend, "Neglected to mention you to us before now."

"Actually, that's not entirely true," Chuck corrected, "Joe, remember that girl I told you about that I met in high school that I lost contact with?"

"Yeah, you were so infatu…" Joe started, then his eyes widened in realization, "This is her? Oh wow, what are the chances of that happening?"

"Pretty dang small," Chuck admitted, "Especially since we both moved around a few times between then and now. Her more than me, but still."

"Wait, I thought you'd said her name was Jenny…" Joe furrowed his brow.

"It's kind of a long story," Sarah blushed, "Long story short, I had to change my name due to some less than advisable business dealings my father had gotten involved in when I was in high school."

"Like WitSec?" Another man in the group asked, joining the conversation. "Was your dad in the mob or something?"

"Paul!" Chuck chastised.

"It's okay," Sarah gave her boyfriend a placating smile, "No, he wasn't in the mob, but I think the people he'd gotten involved with were. He was arrested and I was put into a foster home in another state and my name was changed to protect me."

"That sucks," Paul gave her a sympathetic look, "Paul Daniels."

"Sarah Walker," Sarah introduced herself.

"So aside from meeting back up with your long-lost love," Joe smirked at his friend, "Is there anything new going on with you?"

"Yeah, actually," Chuck gave a small smile, "The business we had to take care of up here actually had to do with the situation five years back."

"Chuck, there's no reason to play coy," Sarah nudged him with a proud grin on her face, "The charge of academic misconduct was overturned, and he is now, officially, a Stanford graduate."

Joe and Paul's eyes grew large as twin smiles spread over their faces a split second before they both let out a resounding whoop. When the other men around them looked up, they saw the men clapping a Chuck on the shoulders as they pulled him away from his girlfriend and into bro hugs as they loudly announced to the rest of the gathering that the false charges against Chuck had been dropped. After that, nearly everyone who had known and supported Chuck back then congratulated him on his degree, and then, after meeting Sarah, on snagging one of the most beautiful women any of them had ever seen, second only in their eyes to their own wives and girlfriends, of course.

As the celebration began to wane, a man a few years older than Chuck, approached. He was slightly shorter than Chuck but a bit more muscular with glasses and a close-cropped haircut and a dark complexion. The recognized ranking alumni of the frat, he handed a highball glass to Chuck and lifted his own glass, "A toast," He announced, "To Chuck Bartowski to wrongs finally being set to rights, and may Bryce Larkin get whatever is coming to him!"

"Here, here!" The various men and women around them agreed, raising their glasses in toast to the newly awarded graduate.

"Thank you, Art," Chuck smiled at the man beside him.

"Surely you can't argue that you didn't deserve it," The man scoffed before turning to Sarah, "Arthur Graham, and you are?"

Sarah's eyes widened in surprise as she took his offered hand, "Sarah Walker…"

Art's eyes flicked between the blonde and his frat buddy, recognition dawning in his eyes before he nodded. "Oh, I understand now."

Chuck looked confused for a moment before his own realization dawned over his face, "I don't think you do."

"Maybe we should take this somewhere private?" Sarah suggested. The men both nodded before Art led them into the house and into one of the insulated study rooms located on the second floor.

"No one can hear us in here," Art assured them as he locked the door behind them to prevent any interruptions. "So, is this the part where you deny working with my uncle? Because I can guarantee, I've heard of you, Agent Walker."

"And I you, Agent Pendragon," Sarah countered, ignoring Chuck's amused snort, "He speaks highly of you."

"And of you as well," Art nodded before turning to Chuck, "I heard that the agency had finally hooked the Piranha, but I didn't believe it until now."

"Believe it," Chuck shrugged, "One thing though, your agency moniker is Pendragon, seriously?"

"They wanted to call me Othello," Art rolled his eyes, "It was a little on the nose."

"So is Pendragon," Chuck countered.

The men both chuckled, "You're not wrong, but it's not like I use it that often, it's just the name they pay me under. When I'm on assignment, they give me another identity, I'm sure you're already familiar with that."

"Sarah would know more about that then I would," Chuck shrugged.

"So, you're with the company now?" Art inquired, getting them back on track.

"On a trial basis," Sarah spoke up, "There was the little snag of him not having a degree, which has since been remedied, so we are just waiting on the final decision."

"Before you let the brass cotton to the fact you two are more than just a cover?" Art gave them a knowing look. "I'm guessing Uncle Langston is blissfully unaware that you two are more than agent and asset?"

"Beckman too," Chuck shrugged.

"Oh, wow, you're _that_ team?" Art's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets, "All anyone can talk about lately is the new hybrid team out of the LA field office. Wait, I thought you were a three-man team?"

"Our third wheel is babysitting the other reason we came up," Sarah advised, the tone of her voice making it clear that no more would be spoken on the topic.

"Understood," Art nodded, "Well, I just want you to know, I won't blow your covers."

"We appreciate that," Chuck nodded.

"Welcome to the company," Art shook his friend's hand, "I still can't believe that you still wound up working for us after Larkin went through all that work to disqualify you."

"Don't remind me," Sarah rolled her eyes, "That's five years I'll never get back."

"What do you mean, 'get back?'" Art arched an eyebrow.

"Remember me talking about Jenny?" When Art nodded, Chuck looked toward Sarah.

"This just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Art shook his head.

"You have no idea," Sarah chuckled.

Chuck's phone took that moment to begin to ring, looking down he saw it was Ellie. The other two went quiet as he answered. As it turned out Ellie and Awesome had just arrived and were in the process of scoping out and setting up their tailgating area. After assuring her that they would join them soon, he hung up. "Sorry, you know how Ellie is." He shrugged only to have the other two nod in understanding.

"I'll let you be on your way, then," Art gave them a congenial smile, "One thing before I go, though. Don't make my uncle have to wait too long before you clue him in on this. Maybe don't tell him that it's been going on the whole time, but maybe once Chuck's status is official, give it a month or so and then let him know that it's no longer a cover."

"Trust us, we have no intention of keeping this from him any longer than we need to," Sarah assured the slightly older man. "It was nice to meet you, Art."

"It was nice to meet you too, Sarah," Art nodded, "Chuck, it was good to see you again."

"You too, man," Chuck and Art exchanged a handshake and a bro hug before Art made his way out of the room.

"Well, that was unexpected," Chuck snickered, "Who knew I was in the same frat as Langston Graham's nephew who is incidentally also an agent of the same covert agency his uncle is the director of."

"Small world," Sarah shrugged, "You'd be surprised at who we have among our ranks. We should get going, though, I doubt Ellie will be patient for long knowing that we are already on campus."

"You would be right about that," Chuck wrapped his girlfriend up in his arms and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, "If we don't at least make an appearance in the next little bit, she's liable to come chase us down." He gave her one more quick kiss then took her hand and led her out of the house. They paused briefly to say their good byes to Joe, Lynn, and Paul as well as a few of the other frat brothers, who stopped them as they made their exit, before heading across campus to the quad where there was an interesting mix of Stanford and UCLA students and alumni tailgating or advertising various student led organizations on campus.

It didn't take long to locate Ellie, who stood by a table, sipping from a bottle of beer while she watched Awesome and his buddies rough house as they tossed a football between them. Her eyes lit up when she saw her little brother and his remarkably beautiful girlfriend. "Thank God you're here," She enthused, "There's only so much of _this_ I can take without taking a severe hit to my sanity."

"Well your sanity can rest easy, Sis, we're here now," Chuck assured her, "And we have some good news for you."

Ellie's eyes widened in excitement as she squealed, "Oh my God, you two eloped, didn't you?"

Devon, who had heard his girlfriend's pronouncement, jogged over, wrapping one arm around Ellie's waist, "You eloped? That's awesome, up top!" He held up his hand for a high-five.

"Uh, no," Chuck stammered as Sarah blushed, "I wasn't exactly honest as to the reason Sarah and I decided to come up early for the game."

"What, you mean you didn't want to show her around?" Ellie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"No, I mean, yes, I did, but that wasn't the main reason," He attempted to explain, "You see, I got a call from the Dean of the College of Computer Engineering asking to meet with me and saying it was very important."

"What could he possibly think was important enough that you needed to drag yourself back up here?" Ellie demanded going into Mama-Sister Bear mode right in front of Chuck's eyes.

"Whoa, Ellie, calm down, this is good news, remember?" He held up his hands placatingly, "It basically comes down to this, they discovered some new evidence that exonerates me. They overturned the ruling of academic misconduct and, since I was ahead in all my classes and had passed all my midterms with flying colors, they decided to simply issue me my bachelor's degrees rather than have me retake those last 12 credits." A grin split his face as he watched realization dawn on his sister's face, "I am officially a Stanford Graduate."

"He not only graduated," Sarah gave him a proud smile, "But he graduated with distinction."

Ellie began to vibrate where she stood, Chuck knew she was trying to not make too much of a scene with as excited as she was. "Go ahead, I know you want to…" he rolled his eyes as Ellie let forth an excited squeal before launching herself into her brother's arms and cheering.

"I knew you could do it!" She enthused, "Aces, Charles, you're Aces."

"Wow, a Dad quote, I'm impressed," Chuck smiled warmly down at his sister who was a whole head shorter than himself.

"Well, you really impressed me, Chuck," Ellie beamed, "I am so proud of you. We really don't have anything to celebrate with here, just some beer, but I promise, I'll throw you a huge graduation party when we get home. You can finally move on with your life, now."

"I'm already ahead of you, Sis," Chuck assured his sister, "I was approached by a company who was willing to hire me after I impressed them with my skills at the BuyMore. They didn't much care that I hadn't finished college, but they recognize talent when they see it, I guess."

"You were headhunted… from the BuyMore?" Ellie raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Looks that way, Elle," Chuck smiled at her, "I'm not the only one they are looking at, though. However, now that I have officially graduated, it may give me a leg up."

"And if they chose to not go with you after all?" Ellie inquired.

"Stanford has offered me a full-ride scholarship, including housing, if I choose to pursue a graduate degree," Chuck shrugged humbly, "The Vice President even said she would consider me for a teaching position once I earned my masters if not my PhD."

"She seemed really impressed by him," Sarah added, "Whether he takes either of those offers, both, or neither, I am really proud of him."

"Please tell me the 'neither' option does not include the BuyMore," Ellie groaned.

"No, it most definitely does not," Chuck assured her, "I'm putting my notice in when I get back. The neither would be more of a 'If I were to start my own company,' type of thing. More than likely, I'll take at least the position I was head hunted for at least until I can save up enough capital to make a run at starting my own tech firm. I'd really like to do something in the area of cybersecurity."

Ellie nodded her understanding and Awesome called his buddies over to congratulate Chuck on finally being awarded his long overdue degrees. Chuck and Sarah split their time between hanging out with Ellie and Awesome and going back to the Gamma Delta Phi house sharing food and drinks with their family and friends until the game started. Chuck and Sarah sat with the Stanford alumni while Ellie and Awesome sat with their UCLA friends on the other side of the stadium. Despite neither of them being big football fans, they understood enough to enjoy the game and camaraderie as they sat snuggled under the Stanford blanket Chuck had brought with them.

After the game, they met up with Ellie and Awesome and endured some good-natured ribbing over the fact that the Bruins had crushed Stanford before parting ways to head toward their lodgings for the night.

* * *

Chuck and Sarah had just settled into bed and found a comfortable position, Chuck on his back, arm around Sarah who is curled into his side as his other hand traced small patterns along her arm as they snuggled up together. They lay like that for a little while before Chuck broke the silence. "You know what Ellie said earlier got me thinking."

"About what?" Sarah murmured.

"Before I say anything, I just want to say there is no reason to freak out," He prefaced, "It's just something to think about for the future."

"Are you talking about her assumption that after only two months of dating that we eloped?" She chuckled softly, "Yeah, it got me thinking too."

"Really?" Chuck looked down at her.

"Yeah," She nodded, "I mean someday, down the road, after you work up the courage to ask me properly... I could see myself possibly saying yes. I never really thought about marriage being a part of my future, not until I met you."

"So, you'd be okay with it?" He checked.

"Well, not tomorrow," She snickered, "And I'd prefer to have the Riker situation taken care of so Mom and Molly can safely come back into my life first, but yeah. I think I'd really like that."

"Agreed," Chuck nodded, "I'm glad we're on the same page with this."

"Me too," Sarah hummed.

"I love you, Jenny." He bent down to kiss her.

"I love you too, Charlie," She gave him a soft smile, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."


	8. Chapter 8

Chuck entered the BuyMore like a man on a mission, his resignation letter which he had meticulously crafted the night before in his messenger bag as he headed across the sales floor toward the door marked 'Employees Only.' Morgan, who had been helping a man with selecting a blender when his best buddy came in, immediately left his customer in pursuit of the lanky Nerd Herd supervisor.

"Hey man," Morgan clapped his friend on the shoulder as soon as he caught up with him in the hallway leading to the employee break room, "Where were you all weekend? I came by to play a little Halo, but for some weird reason not only was your front door locked, but the Morgan door was too."

"We weren't home Morg," Chuck shrugged, opening the break room door with his best friend hot on his heels. "We all went up to Palo Alto for the football game. Sarah wanted to go too, so we made a weekend out of it."

"Ha-ha," Morgan responded drolly, "Nice one, but I think we both know you would never willingly go up there, now what did you really do?"

Chuck rolled his eyes as he opened his locker and swung his bag off his shoulder and into the storage space after pulling his resignation letter from within the bag's depths. "Seriously, Sarah and I road tripped it up to Palo Alto, stayed in a hotel near campus, I showed her the library, my old frat, we saw the game," He then dropped off sotto voce as he closed his locker and headed out of the break room, "Graduated…"

Morgan stood there gob smacked watching Chuck's retreat for a moment before his brain reengaged and he had to chase down the tall nerd once more. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right, did you just say you _graduated_?"

"Yeah," Chuck continued walking down the hall toward Big Mike's office.

"…From Stanford University?"

"Uh huh," Chuck nodded.

"…The same Stanford University who expelled you for cheating on a test," Morgan pressed, "A test that you did not in fact cheat on, but they said you did anyway despite you being a scholarship student, a highly requested tutor, and ranked at the top of your class?"

Chuck turned toward his friend, an annoyed look on his face, "Still yes, Morgan."

"What the hell, dude?" Morgan gestured exasperatedly, "Why didn't you tell me? I would have been there!"

"Morgan, _I_ didn't even know they were going to," Chuck pointed out, "The dean saw us walking across campus on our way back to the hotel and asked if he could have a moment of our time. Turns out my case was brought to the attention of the Vice President who is incidentally the chief counsel for the school."

"This must be what going mad feels like," Morgan muttered.

"Turns out they did not follow proper procedure before expelling me," Chuck shrugged, "If they had, they would have found the evidence that she did which proved that I was set up. Since I had done so well on my midterms, and was ahead in most of my classes, they chose to just issue my degrees instead of making me retake my last semester."

"Seriously?" Morgan gave him an incredulous look.

"Seriously," Chuck confirmed with a broad smile on his face, "I'm a college graduate, they also gave me a settlement and a personal apology."

"Wow, so I guess, congratulations?" Morgan looked unsure as he stuck out his hand to shake the taller man's.

Chuck shifted his letter to his left hand as he shook Morgan's hand, "Thanks."

"Uh, Chuck?" Morgan released his friend's hand to point at the paper in Chuck's left hand, "What is that?"

"It's my resignation letter," Chuck gave his friend a small smile, "The settlement check was enough to cover some, if not most of my startup costs for the software company I've been wanting to start since I was in college."

"Okay, I was wrong," Morgan looked crestfallen, "_This_ is what going mad feels like. You're leaving me?"

"No," Chuck shook his head gently, "I'm leaving the BuyMore. I'll still be around; I just won't be working here. It's not like I'm moving across the country or anything, just maybe across the courtyard. I'm gonna try to get an apartment of my own at Echo Park, I can't keep living with Ellie and Awesome. I'm pretty sure Awesome is seriously considering making them officially official."

"'Officially official?'" Morgan raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "What does that mean?"

"I overheard him talking to the Very Awesomes the other day, asking them to bring something out with them when they come for Thanksgiving," A small smile graced Chuck's face at the thought, "I'm pretty sure he's planning to propose to Ellie soon."

"No, no, that can't be right," Morgan shook his head in disbelief, "It's like my life isn't my life anymore! I lose you, first to Stanford, but they kicked you out, so I got you back, but then Sarah comes along out of nowhere! This smoking hot babe who has, admittedly, good taste enough to snap you up, and suddenly Stanford changes their mind and gives you your degree with a huge enough check to get you to leave the BuyMore to boot! Which leads to me not being able to work with my best friend, my brother from another mother, my heterosexual life partner…"

"Morgan, what have I told you about not using that term?" Chuck groused.

"But now the love of my life is marrying another man?!" Morgan continued on, not even acknowledging Chuck's protest. "What the hell is happening to me?"

"Morgan!" Chuck practically shouted, "Believe it or not, not everything revolves around you. If the whole Stanford expulsion thing hadn't happened in the first place, I might have worked at the BuyMore for a few months to save up capitol to start my software company and would have left by now. As for Sarah, she is one of the best things that could have ever happened to me. I love her, more than I ever loved anyone, even Jill. She's it for me, and yes, that means I have less time for you, but it doesn't mean I'm abandoning you. It just means you can't come over at all hours of the day or night for impromptu gaming sessions because I may be out with her or she might be in with me, and if I have my way, she will eventually move in with me and someday even marry me, but we're not quite there yet."

"Fine, I will concede the victory to the leggy Valkyrie," Morgan huffed, "But what about our gaming sessions?"

"We can still have them, Morgan," Chuck insisted, "We'll just have to schedule them in advance now, it's not the end of the world. Now as for Ellie, you really need to let that go. You're my best friend and I love you, but that's never going to happen. She loves Awesome, has for a long time, and I'm pretty sure if I hadn't suffered my fantastical fall from academic glory, resulting in me moving back home to be her brother-child again, they would probably have been married by now with a kid or two of their own."

"Way to kick a guy when he's down," Morgan grumbled.

"Morgan, it's not my job to ensure you are happy all the time," Chuck shook his head sadly, "Sometimes… sometimes I have to do what's best for me. This," He shook the paper in his hand, "Is what is best for me, Sarah is what is best for me, and Awesome, well, he's what is best for Ellie. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go have a word with Big Mike."

Chuck turned and walked the rest of the way down the hall, trying to not let the dejected look on his friend's face sway his decision. For too long his life had revolved around his best friend, his sister, the betrayal he'd suffered at the hands of Bryce, and Jill, and Stanford, this was his time. Arriving at Big Mike's door, he took a moment to let the contentment of his decision wash over him, strengthening himself for the conversation he was about to have before knocking on the door.

"Enter," Big Mike's terse response echoed from within the room as Chuck slowly opened the door.

"Big Mike, may I have a few moments of your time?" He inquired as he entered the small room and took a seat on the other side of his rotund manager's desk, "There's something I need to speak to you about."


	9. Chapter 9

Morgan watched through the window as Chuck took a seat in front of Big Mike and handed him the letter. The two men had a short discussion before they both stood and shook hands. Morgan could not understand why Big Mike wasn't fighting for Chuck to stay. He knew that Big Mike was looking for a new assistant manager and it was pretty much down to Chuck and the power hungry, queue-ball, dictator in waiting, Harry Tang. With Chuck gone, it was entirely likely Big Mike would have no other choice than to promote Tang to the AssMan position. Morgan was still quasi-spiraling when it looked as if Big Mike and Chuck were about to walk toward the door where he stood. Thinking quickly, Morgan pressed himself up against the wall in hopes they wouldn't see him. As the door swung open, he was able to hear a bit of their discussion.

"Are you sure you don't need me to work my last two weeks of shifts?" Chuck gave his long-time manager a quizzical look.

"No, let those morons, Lester and Jeff actually do something for a change," Big Mike clapped him on the shoulder, "This is long overdue, I've already had you five years longer than I should have. You have two weeks of vacation time coming to you, go ahead and take it. We'll officially call it in two weeks' time but until then, give yourself a break. If you don't want to, at least you'll be drawing a paycheck while you get started on your new path."

"Thanks, Big Mike," Chuck smiled, astonished at the older man's generosity.

"Hey, you deserve it," Big Mike countered, "If those yahoos up at Stanford had just done their jobs in the first place, I wouldn't have had to take you back. As of this moment, you are no longer my problem. I'm damn proud of you, Son. This was a long time coming for you and well deserved. What you do from here on out is up to you. Go ahead and clean out your locker, you can keep the swag you got over the years."

Chuck nodded and withdrew his pocket protector and ID from his breast pocket and handed it to Big Mike before shaking the man's hand once more, "It's been… interesting working for you, Big Mike."

"No need to sugar coat it," Big Mike rolled his eyes, "It's a mad house, but it's my mad house. These are my people, they were never really yours, go find your people Chuck." He then raised his voice slightly, "Maybe seeing you prosper outside of the BuyMore will motivate slackers like Morgan to get their act together. Don't think I can't see you there, Grimes, get out on the sales floor!"

"Yes, Big Mike," Morgan scurried off as the men shared an amused look.

"I really hope he gets his act together," Big Mike huffed good naturedly, "That boy has what it takes to make something of himself if he would just redirect all the effort, he puts into avoiding work, into something productive. For my sake, I hope it's soon, I really don't want to make that ass monkey, Tang my new assistant manager. It's hard enough to keep him from discovering me and the Lady Tang's extracurricular activities."

"Wow, that was more information that I needed to know, Big Mike," Chuck's eyes shot wide.

"I really don't have a lot of options here," Big Mike sighed, "And the Lady Tang is one fine woman."

"What about your wife?"

"Sad to say, the Lady Big Mike is no more," Big Mike shook his head sadly, "She's gone to live with her Mama. Found out that I was using my fishin' cabin for more than fishin' if you get my meaning"

Chuck bit his lip to keep from pointing out that it was no less than the big man deserved for his adulterous ways, opting to just shake his head sadly.

"So you see, I really need someone, anyone, to step up and show me any kind of potential," Big Mike continued on, "Like I said, I've seen glimmers of potential in Grimes since you two first worked for me at the Encino BuyMore, I just haven't figured out a way to motivate the kid."

"I'll see if I can't get a few words in with him before I go," Chuck nodded, "I kinda took him down a few pegs before going into your office. He was acting as if I was abandoning him rather than moving on with my life. I mean, it's pretty much been me and him since kindergarten."

"It can be hard when one friend prospers when the other seems to be in a moment of stagnation," Big Mike nodded, understandingly, "Happened to me and my best friend when my musical career took off, but then I met Gladys, and then lost her, but those are stories for another day. You see what you can do to motivate him from your side, and I'll see what I can do about lighting a fire under that boy's ass."

"Good luck with that," Chuck snickered, "Well, I'm going to go clean out the ol' locker and be on my way."

"You do that," Big Mike patted his shoulder, "Don't be a stranger, you need anything, I'll make sure you get the friends and family discount."

"I'll keep that in mind," Chuck nodded and headed down the hall toward the break room to retrieve the few personal items he kept stashed in his locker, sliding them into his messenger bag and heading back out toward the sales floor."

Looking around, he spotted Morgan, leaning up against the Nerd Herd Desk, talking to a petite brunette.

"Yeah, I'm in my last year at Cal State and my computer crapped out on me!" The woman complained.

"Okay, I think we can help you with that," Morgan nodded as Chuck walked up.

"Morgan," Chuck broke in, "Sorry, um…"

"Alex," The woman provided.

"…Alex," Chuck amended, "I promise to get Morgan back to you really quick, he's really one of the best, I just have to speak with him for a moment."

"Sure," Alex nodded.

"Why don't you start looking over what we have available over there," Morgan pointed toward a section with a couple aisles of demo laptops labeled with their individual specs, "I'll meet up with you once Chuck and I chat and we can figure out what the best fit for you will be."

"Thanks," Alex smiled at him, causing Morgan to blush.

"I think she likes you, Morg," Chuck snickered.

"Nah, she just thinks that flirting with me will get her the best deal on a new laptop." Morgan shook his head.

"I think you'd be surprised," Chuck mused, "She's cute."

"'Cute?'" Morgan's eyebrows shot up until they were hidden under his long hair, "Dude, she is gorgeous, and way, _way_ out of my league. I mean you heard her, she's a college girl, I can't compete with that!"

"College isn't everything, Morgan," Chuck shook his head, "I have it on good authority that, if you get your act together and stop screwing around, you could easily be in the running to become assistant store manager. And you'd be a better option than Tang."

"Jeff would be a better option than Tang and he's barely conscious on a good day," Morgan rolled his eyes, "Besides, I' not interested. I've worked hard at crafting my slacker persona, why undo all the work now?"

"Maybe because you are a natural leader, despite what you may think, and you are actually a pretty decent salesman when you put your mind to it," Chuck pointed out, "I mean, how you opened with Alex, top notch. Seriously, man, if you get your self together, actually let yourself give a crap about your job and prospects, you could be a contender. Not many college graduates are able to attain middle management right out of school, so you'd already have a leg up over those guys."

"I would, wouldn't I?" Morgan agreed, thoughtfully.

"Not to mention that part of assistant manager training is attending the El Segundo School of Finance." Chuck added, "And corporate offers tuition reimbursement if you want to pursue a degree."

"Okay, fine," Morgan huffed, "I'll think about it, but no promises."

"Thank you," Chuck grinned, his work complete, "And I wanted to apologize if I was a little short with you earlier."

"Nah, man, it's fine," Morgan shook his head, "It was my fault anyway. I didn't have your back. I'm really happy for you that the Stanford bigwigs got their heads out of their collective ass and made things right. I know you were made for bigger things than the BuyMore, it just sucks that you're moving on and I'm still here."

"I'm not going too far," Chuck gave his friend a soft smile, "I may eventually go back to get my master's, and I have a standing job offer to teach up there if I want to get my doctorate, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea."

"You just worry about doing what's right for you," Morgan poked his friend's chest on the last three words of his advice. "I'll support you and be proud of you no matter what."

"I'm glad to hear that," Chuck nodded, "Well, I'm get out of your way because I see Tang birddogging your sale and you don't want him to scare her off."

"Good idea," Morgan nodded and turned to resume his sale.

"And if she is as interested as she seems to be, ask her out," Chuck advised, "If it works out, we always have room for one more at Ellie's Thanksgiving Day dinner."

"That's coming up soon, right?" Morgan looked back at his best friend wide eyed.

"About a month, we got to get through Halloween, next week, first," Chuck pointed out.

"Sandworm?" Morgan suggested.

"I think it's time we retire the sandworm," Chuck grimaced.

"Brainstorming sesh tomorrow, then," Morgan pointed at his buddy, "I've got a laptop to sell."

"Good luck Buddy!" Chuck laughed as he watched his friend eagerly scurry toward the young woman he had been talking to before, narrowly edging out Tang's approach. Satisfied things were as good as they were going to get for the Burbank BuyMore, Chuck turned and exited out the front doors.

* * *

Chuck and Sarah were cuddled up on the living room couch, enjoying their time together and reveling in the good news they had received. Chuck was now, officially the team analyst, with a joint contract with the CIA and NSA, in order to make sure he was properly compensated for his work, he would be payed $32,500 a year from each agency with a $5,000 signing bonus from each, once training was completed. Which was more than triple what he was making at the BuyMore. He would have to travel out to DC for a couple months for abbreviated training from both agencies, Sarah and Casey would also be traveling with him as they would serve as his escorts at the agencies. As luck would have it, they were both due for their yearly quals, so when Chuck was with one, the other would be going through firearms recertification, physicals, and mental evaluations. The time they spent with Chuck at his own training would then count as their recurrent training for their respective agency.

"So, I guess we probably should hold off on buying a house until after my training is complete," Chuck postulated as he let his hand and fingers draw gentle circles on Sarah's upper arm. He felt her stiffen slightly and look up at him. "Unless that's too soon, because I totally get if that would be too soon."

"Charlie, baby, you're spiraling," She snickered, reaching up to gently turn his face to look at her, "It's not that I don't want to move in with you, because I do, I know that I see a future for us. One that hopefully includes Molly and a younger sibling or two someday."

"I like the way you think, Jenny," Chuck grinned down at her, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"But before we put down roots, there are a few things we need to take into consideration," She sat up and turned to face him, taking his hands in her own. "First, we don't know if we are going to be based in Burbank, or somewhere else, nor do we know for how long. Secondly, I want Molly to be with us as soon as we can, which means we have to figure out a way to deal with the Riker situation sooner than later. Thirdly, once Molly is safe, and if or when we find Orion to have the Intersect removed from your head, do we want to stay with the CIA? What will that mean for our jobs? Will I stay an operative, or will I become an analyst as well? Or will we just choose to completely leave that life and retire? Also, how much of a possibility is there that you might want to attend graduate classes at Stanford and to what end? Would you want to eventually teach there? What if we chose to stay with the agency and the CIA has you continue on for your PhD so you can be faculty and take over for Fleming as an on-campus recruiter? Also, what if I want to pursue graduate school? Would I be allowed to pursue my graduate level courses while you do yours? ..."

"Wow, okay," Chuck gave his girlfriend a soft smile, "And you said I was spiraling."

"Sorry," Sarah blushed.

"Jenny, you don't ever have to be embarrassed for spiraling," Chuck assured her, "It's practically a requirement for being a Bartowski, because I think we both know that is exactly what you are, even if it isn't in name just yet," He squeezed her hands reassuringly, "So, if you will allow me to condense all of that into something a little more succinct. You don't want us to buy a place together yet because there is still too much in the air between Molly's safety, the Intersect, where our careers may ultimately take us, and the potential for one or both of us pursuing our graduate degrees whether we retire from the agency or not and how that may affect future postings if we pursue said degrees while still employed by the CIA and NSA."

"Basically," Sarah shrugged.

"Alright, then how about we start small," Chuck met her eyes, "Jenny, how would you feel about finding a rental that we share. Could be one bedroom or two bedroom, preferably with a short-term lease that we can break early if need be and we are reassigned?"

"So long as that second bedroom is a guest bedroom or eventually Molly's," Sarah amended, "Because if we are sharing a home, whether a house, a condo, or a tent in some nudist commune…"

"Sexy," Chuck grinned.

"Focus, Charlie," She snapped her fingers in front of his face bringing him out of his mental images of what she might look like undercover and uncovered in such a place, "Like I was saying is that, if we are sharing a place to live, we will be sleeping in the same bed."

"I think I could be on board for that," Chuck grinned.

"We also should hold of on apartment hunting until after your training is finished," Sarah smiled as Chuck nodded his agreement, "We don't know where we will be posted after that, and wherever they place us, if it's not here or DC where I currently have an apartment, they will put us up in a hotel until the assignment is either done or until we can find a semi-permanent place of our own. Oh, and you'll be staying at my apartment with me while we are in D.C. Casey's permanent residence is in the BOQ at Fort Mead, and it's too much of a security risk to have you stay alone."

"Alright, that make sense," Chuck nodded his understanding, "I'm not gonna complain about having to share an apartment with my super smart, saucy, sexy girlfriend while I'm in D.C. Plus, the time I'm in training will give me time to save up my income a bit. No matter where we wind up posted, I will be needing a car. Now that I don't work at BuyMore, I need a vehicle to get around without being at the mercy of you, Ellie, and Awesome."

"Makes sense," Sarah agreed, "Now there's also the matter of being reassigned if the team is ever broken up."

"I don't want us to be assigned apart from each other," Chuck shook his head.

"I don't either, there are really only two ways to get around that," Sarah advised, "We can petition Graham to assign you to me as my personal field analyst so long as I am an agent."

"And the other option?" Chuck tilted his head, his curls bouncing, causing him to look like a curious cocker spaniel. Sarah couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips, "What?"

"Sorry," She shook her head, "You just looked so damned cute."

"Whatever," Chuck rolled his eyes and gestured for her to continue her previous thought.

"The other option is to get married. Married agents or analyst/agent couples cannot be separated unless their marriage is terminated," Sarah gave a small shrug, "And as much as I would love to be married to you someday, it's just a bit too soon to make that step."

"Probably," Chuck nodded, "Probably should give it a few more weeks before I start ring shopping, right?"

Sarah let out a laugh that was so infectious Chuck had to join in, and before they knew it, they were in tears from their laughter, holding onto each other.

"Oh no! What happened?" Morgan gasped, letting himself into the living room after entering through the Morgan Door to see the two, wrapped up in an embrace, shoulders shaking, and mistaking their tears for sorrow rather than joy.

"Noth…nothing, Buddy," Chuck shook his head, wiping the tears from Sarah's eyes and his own before pressing a soft kiss to his girlfriend's lips. "Sarah and I were just sharing an inside joke from our time on Catalina Island in high school."

"Ah, okay," Morgan nodded, plopping himself in an armchair not too far from his best friend and his best friend's girl, pulling the messenger bag he'd had slung across his body over his head and setting it on the ground to rummage through before extracting a spiral bound notebook and a pen he proceeded to click as he often did when in Dr. Morgan mode.

"What can I help you with?" Chuck turned to his friend.

"We said we were going to brainstorm Halloween costumes for next week," Morgan reminded him.

"Right, I kinda forgot about that, man." Chuck blushed, "Sorry."

"No problem Chuck, you have a lot on your mind," Morgan waved off his friend's concern, "Between leaving the BuyMore, figuring out where you are going to do no, not to mention your smoking hot girlfriend, no offense, Sarah."

"None taken," Sarah shook her head at her boyfriend's ridiculous friend.

"So, I took it upon myself to come up with a few suggestions." Morgan nodded, opening up the notebook with one hand while twirling his pen in his other hand, "Okay, so my first suggestion is Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes as Captain America and the Winter soldier."

"No," Chuck shook his head, "Love you buddy, but neither of us have the physique to pull that off."

"Maybe _he_ doesn't, you on the other hand…" Sarah added under her breath, running her hand up his arms to the muscles that lay under his shirt, causing Chuck to blush. Thankfully, Morgan didn't notice.

"Okay, sticking with the Marvel theme, Fandral the Dashing and Volstagg, maybe get Fernando or someone to dress up as Hogun?" Morgan suggested, "You'll need to dye your hair blonde, though, or it might not work."

"Do you have anything that's not Marvel?" Chuck arched his eyebrow.

"Mario and Luigi, clearly, I'd be Mario," Morgan offered.

"Next?"

"Batman and Rob…"

"Absolutely not!" Chuck's eyes widened.

"Inigo Montoya and Fezzik?" Morgan gave his friend a 'good idea, huh?' look.

"Inigo and Westley?" Chuck countered.

"That is a little awkward since they really aren't friends until near the end of the movie." Morgan hedged.

"True, but Sarah could be Buttercup then," Chuck added.

"That would still be awkward because I'd still be a third wheel since Westley and Buttercup are the real pair there," Morgan frowned, then his eyes lit up, "I got it, but it's a bit obvious.

"Hit me, little buddy," Chuck had a feeling he knew what was coming, and he wasn't disappointed.

"Since you want your girl included, how about Han, Leia, and Chewie?" Morgan was getting excited.

"I like it," Sarah nodded, "But on the stipulation that I get to choose my own costume."

"I don't know, Sarah," Morgan hedged.

"Ignore him," Chuck cut off his friend, "Wear whichever Leia costume you like."

"Thank you, Baby," Sarah kissed her boyfriend's cheek.

"I guess that will work," Morgan shrugged, "Chuck, should I order your costume when I get mine?"

"Nah, I got it," Chuck shook his head, "You should probably get going, though, before it gets too dark to ride home safely."

Morgan shot a look to the window next to the front door, "Yeah, you're right. I'll see you later, man."

"Call before you come over if you plan to drop by," Chuck advised, "I don't know how much time I'm going to be spending at home."

Morgan looked between his best friend and Sarah, who was practically in Chuck's lap she was sitting so close to the tall nerd, a knowing smirk spreading across his face, "I got ya, don't want to interrupt anything with your ladylove."

"What are you Deadpool all of a sudden?" Chuck scoffed.

"I wish," Morgan chuckled, "Well, maybe without the disfigurement…"

"And on that note, goodnight, Morgan," Chuck said pointedly.

"Right, goodnight." Morgan nodded and headed toward Chuck's bedroom.

"Front door, Morgan," Chuck rolled his eyes, making a mental note to start locking his bedroom window, especially if Sarah was potentially staying over.

"Of course," Morgan nodded, waved his goodbye and headed out the front door.

"We will still be here next week, right?" Chuck checked with his girlfriend who had resumed her position snuggled up against his side.

"Yes, we'll still be here," Sarah nodded, "We won't leave for DC until Friday."

"Which leaves us Thursday to recover from the party," Chuck stated, when his girlfriend gave him a questioning look he gave her a small smile, "Without fail, Morgan spikes the punch at Ellie's parties, but for some reason he always manages to spike the bowl that was already doctored rather than the non-alcoholic punch."

"Why am I not surprised by that?" Sarah snickered.

"Because it's Morgan," Chuck shrugged, joining in on his girlfriend's laughter. "So, if we are flying to DC on the second of November, what about Thanksgiving?"

"Since training will take breaks for the holidays, we will be sent back to L.A. for Thanksgiving, your training should be done before Christmas, so we should be back in town for that and New Year," Sarah stated, "Anything left to learn at that point can be done in the field by Casey and me. I know we have been running together and you and Awesome have been doing some free weight training, but I would like you to start adding self-defense into your routine, which means your fitness routine will need to be updated accordingly. Nothing to bulk you up too much, mostly just endurance and flexibility."

"Why do I get the feeling you have an ulterior motive with this, Jenny?" He teased, causing Sarah to blush.

"I didn't mean it _that_ way," She stammered out.

"I know," Chuck grinned, "You just kinda walked right into it. For the record though, I'm on board, especially if we can work on the endurance and flexibility training together."

"You are such a tease, Charlie!" Sarah scoffed, "I like it."

"I like it too." Chuck smiled down at her warmly, "Hey it's getting kinda late, are you wanting to stay over? I mean Ellie and Awesome are on the overnight, so its not like they're going to interrupt anything."

"As appealing as that offer is, we have an early conference call with Graham and Beckman tomorrow," Sarah sighed, "I didn't bring anything with me for tomorrow, so it's probably better that I stay at my hotel for the night."

Chuck nodded, "Yeah, it would kinda suck to have to wake up super early just to do the walk and drive of shame back to your place to change, only to drive all the way back here to Casey's for the conference. I wish you could stay, though."

"Me too," Sarah leaned up to kiss him softly, "But look at it this way, in another week, we'll be sharing an apartment for two months, with no… okay relatively fewer interruptions from family and friends, at least." This got a chuckle out of her boyfriend, "I really do have to go, if I'm going to get any kind of sleep tonight." She added slowly rising from her seat and crossing to the door, Chuck following close behind her.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning," Chuck wrapped his hands around her hips and pulled her closer to press a soft kiss to her lips which quickly led to more as she wrapped her arms around his neck and his long arms slid around her waist to hold her fast to his body as the kiss deepened. When the need for air became too much, they slowly separated, "I love you, Jenny."

"I love you too, Charlie," She matched his grin with one of her own, "I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

"Good night," Chuck opened the door for her and stood in the doorway, watching until she was safely in her car and driving off into the night toward the hotel where she was temporarily residing.


	10. Chapter 10

The Halloween party was in full swing by the time Sarah had arrived. The courtyard was so packed that it took her a few moments to locate Ellie and Awesome, who were dressed as Adam and Eve and attached at the hip as they socialized with their guests. Ellie, the ever-efficient hostess noticed her almost immediately and had started making her excuses to go meet up with her brother's girlfriend.

"Sarah, oh my God, you look amazing!" The older woman squealed, taking in the full effect of the costume Sarah was wearing. She had her hair tied up in a braided bun and the dress she wore had Grecian sleeves, a scooped neckline, and a long flowing skirt that moved gracefully with her every motion. The silver chunky necklace was nearly identical to the one worn in the film from which the inspiration for the costume came from, and the silver belt she wore over the bodice of the gown accentuated her trim waistline.

"Thanks," Sarah blushed at Ellie's praise.

"Just wait until Chuck sees you!" Ellie crowed, "You are gonna knock his socks off. Although, Morgan may be a little disappointed that you didn't wear the famous gold bikini."

"I didn't know how many of Chuck and Morgan's friends and coworkers would be here," Sarah shrugged, "And I'd rather not spend the evening perpetrating that particular nerdy wet dream."

Ellie snorted at Sarah's wry delivery, "I don't blame you."

Sarah nodded at the woman who was fast becoming her friend, "You look pretty good too, but are you sure you really want Devon showing that much skin?"

"We switch of who chooses the costumes every year," Ellie shook her head, "This year was his choice, not one of my favorites, but I can deal with it. Especially since I know who he's going, or rather staying home, with."

"Good point," Sarah chuckled, "I'm gonna go see if I can't find Chuck."

The two women shared a smile before going their separate ways to find their respective significant others.

Sarah quietly slipped into the apartment where she saw Chuck in the kitchen through the pass-through. He was wearing an outfit that consisted of a white dress shirt, black vest and dark blue pants, black knee-high boots, and a thigh holster which held a blaster. His back was to her as he poured a bag of pretzels into a large aluminum bowl. She snuck up behind him and covered his eyes.

"Who's there?" He asked.

Sarah smiled as she lifted up on her toes to whisper into his ear, "Someone who loves you."

"Morgan, how did you get so tall?" He teased, removing her hands from his eyes and turning around to see her, "Hey there Princess."

"Hey, Flyboy," She smiled up at him and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Did you say something, man?" Morgan asked as he passed, walking into the living room from the hallway.

Sarah looked over her shoulder to notice Morgan, who surprisingly, was not dressed as Chewbacca, "Isn't he a little short to be a stormtrooper?" She murmured low enough for Chuck to hear.

"Don't even get into it with him," Chuck rolled his eyes, "There was a whole thing with the costume reservations. Apparently, the shop double booked the Men's small Chewbacca costume and all they had left were Ewoks and Storm troopers."

"The only man who should ever dress as an Ewok is the great Warwick Davis!" Morgan proclaimed indignantly.

"I'm sorry you weren't able to get the costume you wanted, Morgan," Sarah gave him a sympathetic smile.

Morgan eyed her up and down before picking up a bowl and walking toward the front door, but not before throwing a "You look nice, Sarah," Over his shoulder.

"Do I want to know?" Sarah let her eyes flick over to Morgan's retreating form.

"He was probably hoping you would show up in the gold slave bikini," Chuck shrugged.

"Who said I didn't?" She teased, pressing up against him, trapping Chuck between the counter and her body. "Ooh, is that a blaster in your holster or are you happy to see me?"

"A little bit of both," Chuck blushed slightly, "We should probably start circulating before Ellie comes after us."

"At least we won't have to worry about a walking carpet in my way tonight," Sarah grinned innocently at her boyfriend before grabbing the bowl of pretzels he'd poured out and spinning on her heel to carry the bowl to the snack table that had been set up in the courtyard.

"You are going to be the death of me, woman," Chuck huffed, following her into the courtyard. They made sure that Ellie saw them circulating, not only with the few BuyMorons who had been invited, such as Skip, Anna, and Francisco, but among Ellie and Awesome's coworkers, some of which were women Ellie had tried, unsuccessfully, to set Chuck up with in the past.

Every so often kids, would show up in the archway that marked the entrance to the complex, causing one of the adults to grab the bowl of wrapped candy that sat on a nearby table to drop a few pieces in to the kids' bags. As luck would have it, Chuck and Sarah were the closest ones there when a group of kids dressed as various Star Wars characters including Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, and Darth Vader. The kids begged them for a picture, of course Chuck and Sarah gladly obliged, even grabbing Morgan to join in the impromptu photo shoot.

The party began to slowly die down around midnight as cabs were called, designated drivers led passengers out to the parking lot. Morgan even tossed his bike in the back of Skip's truck and caught a ride home with him. That left Ellie, Devon, Chuck, and Sarah to clean up the party. An hour later found them sitting on the ledge of the fountain in the newly cleaned courtyard, sipping beer and wine, and decompressing from the party.

"So, Chuck, are you packed for your trip yet?" Ellie asked. Chuck and Sarah had told Ellie that Chuck was traveling to DC for a national agency who wanted to hire him as a tech consultant for their West Coast branches, but wanted to make sure he was correctly trained on their system, and that Sarah was going to go with him to visit friends back East.

"Yep," Chuck nodded, taking a swig from the bottle of beer he held in his free hand as his other was occupied entwining itself with that of his girlfriend, "Sarah even helped, made sure I packed enough warm clothes to last a week or so. The hotel they are putting me up in has a laundromat on site, so I can wash my clothes as I go."

"Are you planning to sight see while you're there?" Devon jumped in.

"Yeah, I'll have weekends free, so we have plans to check out the National Mall, the Smithsonian, the White House, you know the usual places," Chuck shrugged, "Might take the train up to New York on one of the weekends, maybe catch a Broadway show. Sarah's never been to a show there and you know how much of a musical theater fan I am."

"What would you see?" Ellie asked.

"Depends on what is playing," Chuck shrugged, "Could be RENT, Les Mis, The Lion King, or even Phantom of the Opera, we'll figure it out a little closer to when we go."

"You'll still be back for Thanksgiving, right?" Ellie checked.

"Yeah, we'll fly back on Wednesday and leave again on Sunday," Sarah nodded, "I have a few things I need to take care of out there when I'm not playing extended tourist with your brother. We'll be back a couple weeks after that."

"Just in time to help prep for Christmas," Chuck grinned. In reality, the two weeks after Thanksgiving would be spent on initial assignments, assuming training went as well as they were hoping, and there were no delays. "The check I got from Stanford along with the retainer fee from the agency will be enough to find an office or at least an apartment with a den or spare room I can turn into a private office."

"You're going to move out?" Ellie's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"That's the plan," Chuck nodded, "Figured I've freeloaded off you guys long enough, it's time to start actually being an adult, starting with getting my own place."

"We won't start looking until after we're back, so the actual move probably won't be until after the new year," Sarah added.

"Are you two moving in together?" Devon asked, but didn't wait for a response before the predictable, "Awesome!" Slipped from his lips.

"Haven't quite decided that yet," Chuck hedged, "We've only been together a couple months or so now, but we don't want to rush anything."

"Why not? You two are already doing the horizontal tango," Devon protested.

"Devon!" Ellie scolded as both Chuck and Sarah turned red, "That's none of our business."

"And on that note," A wide-eyed Chuck broke in, "I think it's time we head out. We have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow to get ready for the trip and we are leaving from Sarah's place on Saturday morning."

"Will I see you again before you leave?" Ellie pouted.

"Yeah, we'll be here for dinner tomorrow, as always," Chuck assured her, "But tonight and tomorrow night, I'm crashing with her."

"Ooh, private time," Devon wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at the younger couple, "Awesome."

"Okay, that's enough for tonight," Ellie stood and nudged her boyfriend to do the same. "I think it's time for us to go to bed. Please drive safe and we'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, Love ya, Sis," Chuck stood and bent down to hug his sister's slightly shorter frame before exchanging a bro-hug with Devon.

"Love you too, baby brother," Ellie smiled as she hugged him.

"Thank you for having me," Sarah joined in, hugging first Awesome then Ellie.

"Thanks for coming," Ellie wrapped Sarah in a strong hug that left her nearly as breathless as her boyfriend's kisses.

As Ellie and Awesome headed inside, Chuck ducked into his room and grabbed his rolling suitcase and messenger bag that he was taking on his trip. Wrapping his arm around Sarah's shoulders, he led her out to her car, a candy apple red, 2006, Porsche Spider. He slid his bags in the trunk as Sarah unlocked the doors and soon, they were on their way.

When they had arrived at Sarah's hotel room, Chuck lifted his suitcase onto the couch. Flipping it open, he began to rummage around within.

"What are you doing?" Sarah gave him an amused look as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Um, getting ready for bed?" Chuck gave her a puzzled look as he lifted a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt from the bag, "I'm tired."

"I hope not too tired," She gave him a sly smile as she reached up and removed the pins that secured the braided bun to her head, letting the woven hair fall until it lay down her back, causing Chuck to gulp. "I have a little surprise for you."

Chuck starred, transfixed as she reached behind her and undid the zipper of her dress. He could never figure out how women were able to reach to manipulate a zipper that ran the full length of their back and was thankful that men's garments, with extremely rare exceptions, didn't require such contortionist abilities to wear. She removed the silver necklace she had been wearing and pushed lightly at the shoulders of her costume, letting the white material pool at her brown booted feet. Chuck's eyes just about popped out of his head when he saw what she had worn underneath the dress.

"You weren't kidding, Jen," He gasped out, dropping the clothes from his hands and walking over to her.

"Oh Charlie," She chuckled, placing her hands on his cheeks and angling his head down to look at her, "I would never tease you about something like this."

"I can't believe you were wearing this the whole time!" He whispered.

"Yep," She grinned, letting her hands drift to rest at the nape of his neck, her fingers playing absentmindedly with his curls as his hands gently bracketed her hips. "But it was only ever meant for your eyes. Only you will ever see me wear this."

"Jenny you look… wow," Chuck struggled to find his words, "I mean you were absolutely gorgeous at the party but knowing _this_ was underneath that dress makes it even hotter." He blushed, "Not that you aren't always…"

"Charlie," She giggled, pressing a finger to his lips to put an end to his rambling. "Don't worry, I understood what you meant. I think the real question is did the reality live up to the fantasy?"

Chuck simply nodded until Sarah let her hand slip back to where her other one still played with the animal shapes that were forming in his curls, "Most definitely, at least so far."

"'So far?'" Sarah smiled up at him, "There was more?"

"Only a little," Chuck shrugged, a slight tint of pink rising to his cheeks in embarrassment, "I would say something incredibly cheesy like, 'That looks really uncomfortable, maybe I can help you with that,'"

Sarah sent him a flirtatious grin as she slipped one of her hands around to his shoulder and then down the front of his shirt. She stepped forward and grabbed a hold of his shirt as she whispered huskily, "I appreciate the offer, maybe I can help you with releasing your blaster," She grinned at how flustered he got, his fingers digging into the flesh that rested just below the metallic colored bottoms of the bikini as he tried to keep control of himself.

"You know, in order to help, you actually need to move your hands," She teased, kissing him as she removed her hand from his curls and traced it down his side to the front of his thigh, where she deftly released the snap that secured his blaster to his leg before trailing her hand back up to unbuckle his belt, letting it fall to the floor as she backed him toward the bed.

"I, uh, well, I feel you are at a bit of a disadvantage, clothing wise," Chuck stammered, "I'm wearing quite a bit more layers than, ahem, you are."

Sarah suppressed a snicker at his expense and smiled, coyly, up at him, "Well, there's no rule that says you can't help get yourself to the appropriate level if disrobement."

Chuck grinned, nodded and helped her to remove his vest and shirt. Leaving him in his sleeveless undershirt, blue pants, and black boots. "I think that puts us about even," He smiled, leaning down to capture her lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist, his hands slowly making their way upwards to release the closure of the bikini top. Sarah smiled against his lips as she pulled his shirt from where it was tucked into his pants and pulled it over his head.

The paused only long enough to remove their boots before they both fell back on the bed, unsure who actually started the fall onto the mattress, but neither caring as they continued to disrobe each other. At some point Sarah reached over and hit the switch on the lamp casting the room in shadow as they made love in the moonlight streaming through the break in the curtains.


	11. Chapter 11

The training at Langley and Fort Mead was simultaneously easier and harder than Chuck had expected. He'd always been in good shape, but the physical training he'd had to start wore him out, especially when Casey had insisted they start including the obstacle course. The running at first wasn't too bad, a few miles at first, that, he could handle, but within a week and a half, they had him up to nearly 10 miles every other day. He soon learned he would need the endurance to battle the obstacle course, it was almost as if Casey was wanting him to go through the modified Marine Force Recon Training. It was taxing mentally and physically for him, but in the end, at least he was able to say he did it.

On days he wasn't with Casey, he and Sarah went through their own personal training, which was a hybrid of initial training for Chuck and recurrent for Sarah. When he wasn't in training with Sarah, he was meeting with the section of the cybersecurity task force that was based at Langley. At first the people on the task force were pretty cool. Chuck quickly found out many of them shared some of his same interests and passions. Unfortunately, by the end of week two, someone had found out his hacker handle and it spread through the department like wildfire. The reactions of the team ranged from hero worship, to blatant disbelief, even open animosity. The only person who didn't treat him any differently was a guy a couple years younger than him who had been recruited out of MIT. Manoosh soon became is best friend on campus when Sarah wasn't around, and even when she was, the younger man seemed to be in awe that not only was Chuck the Piranha, but he was partnered with the infamous Agent Walker.

"Do you know they call her the Ice Queen?" Manoosh asked as they sat together at a nearby hole in the wall, "They say she was forged from he same glacier as the legendary Agent Frost."

"Why do they call her that?" Chuck inquired of his friend over their lunch of nacho samplers.

"Because she is cold, calculated, like she has ice water in her veins," Manoosh had explained, deadly serious. Chuck had stared at his friend a few moments to see if the man was joking before throwing his head back and laughing uproariously. "What's so funny?"

"Are we talking about the same Sarah Walker?" Chuck arched an incredulous brow at the younger man, "I think you need to check your facts, man. She is the furthest from cold and calculating. She is funny and engaging, and wicked talented. If you could just listen to her play violin, you would know how deep those waters run."

"Agent Walker plays the violin?" Manoosh was surprised by the revelation as very little was known about the illusive Ice Queen.

"Yeah, and I play the guitar and flute," Chuck shrugged, "Well I play the guitar, gave up the flute after high school."

"You've heard her play?" Manoosh was getting excited.

"I've played with her," Chuck smiled, taking a sip from his soda, "We have been working together for a few months now and found ourselves with some time on our hands one weekend, so we drove down to Catalina Island and did a little busking. Turns out neither of us were really all that well off as kids, so we both used to busk for pocket money from time to time."

"What are you boys gabbing about?" Sarah asked, taking a seat next to Chuck.

"Chuck here was just telling me that you are musically inclined," Manoosh grinned.

Sarah shot Chuck a side look and rolled her eyes when he shrugged without an ounce of apology in the gesture. "Yeah, I play a little violin," She shrugged, no reason to lie about it now, "Was in the school orchestra, even played with the string quartet at my university."

"Now, that I didn't know," Chuck pointed out, an impressed look on his face.

"Can I hear you play?" Manoosh gave her an eager puppy look, practically begging her to agree.

"Sadly, no, my violin is still in L.A." She shook her head, "The time we are spending in D.C. is supposed to be focused on training, not finding a nearby pier upon which to collect tourist's pocket money."

"Okay, point taken," Chuck held up his hands in mock surrender. "So, what's next on the agenda? I'm sure you had a reason to come get me aside from my looks, charm, and impeccable taste in Tex-Mex inspired appetizers."

Sarah rolled her eyes, "Yeah, we have a training class to get to."

"Which one?" Manoosh's eyes widened with curiosity.

"'Infiltration and Inducement of Enemy Personnel,'" Sarah stated simply, "And if you don't hurry up, we're gonna be late."

"Not that Agent Montgomery would be able to tell," Manoosh snickered, "The man is likely so souced he doesn't even know what day it is."

"Be that as it may," Sarah rolled her eyes, "We do need to go."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," Chuck huffed good naturedly, laying down bills to cover his part of the check and standing to join his partner.

"Have fun at seduction school," Manoosh teased, waving at them as they walked off.

As expected, Roan Montgomery spent the majority of his lecture making and downing one martini after another, of course demonstrating the correct way to drink one, 'Hold by stem, nod at mark, slowly tip back."

When it came to demonstrating his flirting ability, Chuck was relieved that Sarah had handed him a small tin of Altoids on their way back to Langley, so his breath wouldn't be an issue. He was gentlemanly, engaged in a little complimentary flirting with his 'mark' Sarah, and quickly found a common cultural interest, which in this case was the upcoming National Symphony Orchestra performance. Sarah had later mentioned that she really was interested in going as it would fall over one of their training breaks. Chuck, of course, promptly purchased tickets in the balcony so they could revisit some of their favorite activities from when they'd first met.

Roan had insisted that while compliments and flirting were all well and good, he still needed to see how good of a kisser Chuck was. Chuck nodded, and cupping Sarah's jaw in his hand, bent his head to press a soft kiss to her lips that left her weak in the knees, as it did every time he kissed her in such a way. This was not good enough for Roan who insisted they be more passionate. Chuck shrugged and gave Sarah a challenging smile, which she returned as he pulled her into his embrace with just enough force and passion to please the aging lothario. When they separated, Sarah had to excuse herself to the bathroom to catch her breath and fix her makeup, a task made difficult by her quaking legs as she walked with shaky steps to the closest ladies' room. Chuck was also affected, but at least with him it was as simple as leaning against the improvised bar to hide the natural result of such a make out.

"I won't tell Diane," Roan gave Chuck a knowing look as they waited for Sarah to return.

"Sorry?" Chuck furrowed his brow at the older man.

"You're not her asset, and while it's frowned upon in some circles, it's not as big of a deal as they make it out to be." Roan shrugged, "I mean, until the day she disappeared your mom and dad were so far gone, it was pretty commonly believed your parents would be _the_ couple to emulate."

"I'm sorry, what?" Chuck looked at the man wide-eyed.

"Oh please, as if you don't know," Roan rolled his eyes then saw the mix of confusion and hurt on Chuck's face and sobered quickly, "Oh God, you didn't know. Didn't your pops ever tell you how they met?"

"Yeah, they met at work," Chuck shrugged, not fully understanding what he was hearing, "Dad was a professor at UCLA, and he and mom were assigned to a joint departmental project. They fell in love, got married, had my older sister and then me. I remember they were happy, but one day, it all fell apart. Mom just left, it was weird, there was no fight, nothing that would indicate anything was wrong. She kissed Ellie and me goodbye and left for what she said was a business trip, but she never came back. She must have known that she wasn't coming back because she left some of her jewelry behind for Ellie and me. Dad took off a few years later, said he was going to get ingredients for pancakes. I'd been invited to join the national high school honor society, something Ellie had done when she was my age. He was going to reward me with breakfast for dinner, but instead he left and never came back."

Roan rounded the counter and took a seat next to Chuck, "Charles, you don't remember me, do you?"

"Should I?" Chuck looked up at the man.

"I think you would have remembered my daughter, Virginia better, I think she was one of your first crushes, at least until she met Warren and moved to New York." Roan's boisterous mannerisms gave way to quiet, fatherly tones, "We lived down the street from you when your mom left for a mission and disappeared. You might not remember this, but she always left her personal jewelry, her wedding rings, and that charm bracelet you're probably thinking of giving the fair Miss Walker, behind when she went away, just in case things went sideways, and she wasn't able to come home."

"I helped your dad search for her as he split his time between looking for your mom, and working on his project," Roan gave Chuck a sad smile, "I'm sad to say that your mom's mission went pear shaped and we weren't able to extract her or the mark she was sent after. Your dad didn't take it well, and to make matters worse, I was recalled to Langley."

"Wait are you telling me my parents were spies?" Chuck's brows shot up, disbelievingly.

Neither man noticed Sarah's entrance until she softly laid her hand on his shoulder in support. She'd heard all of what Roan had said to Chuck and her heart was breaking for him as he was informed that everything he'd been told about his parents wasn't true, or at least wasn't completely true.

"Your mom was," Roan nodded, turning his head slightly to take in Sarah, "She's actually the one your partner here is compared to and was trained in the image of. Your mother was simply known as Frost or the Frost Queen, your father was originally brought on as an asset when his doctoral thesis on programing the human brain was published. Technically, your folks weren't allowed to have a personal relationship, they actually eloped which forced the director's hands and your father was brought on as a company scientist. Charles, your father is Orion, the man who created the intersect that you now have in your head."

Chuck and Sarah were surprised and shocked that Roan knew about the Intersect, and it showed on their faces. "I was read in many years ago," Roan assured them, "As I was the other half of your father's protection detail. My wife had some mental health issues that she refused to seek help for and wound up leaving me several years before the project was off the ground. I thought that Encino would be safer for Virginia than New York, you have no idea what kind of trolls are in New York. She actually would babysit you and your sister when you were little."

"I think I remember that," Chuck nodded, "She had dark hair and really blue eyes."

"Yeah, I don't know where the blue eyes came from, her mother and I both have dark eyes as did her grandparents," Roan shrugged, "Recessive jeans, maybe? In any event I know about the intersect, have for years, including a certain little boy sneaking into his father's office and playing with equipment…"

Chuck blushed, "I just wanted to see what he was doing."

"To be honest, it's probably why you are the only successful intersect download," Roan shrugged, "You had that foundation from the framework you accidentally downloaded as a kid, so by the time you were sent the full intersect, your brain was primed, as it were, to take it on. I do have to say, Orion is less than thrilled that you have the intersect now. He never wanted you or Ellie mixed up in this, I frankly don't blame him, to be honest, I'm glad that my daughter and son-in-law went into the culinary business and their kids are safe from this life."

"You're still in contact with my dad?" Chuck whispered, still processing everything he'd learned.

"Yeah," Roan nodded, "Larkin told him he was sending it to you as you were the only one who he knew could keep it safe. I should point out that Larkin isn't truly rogue, he's undercover in Fulcrum as a part of Sandwall."

Chuck flashed on the information and turned to Sarah, "He's telling the truth."

"Your dad wants to get that thing out of your head as quickly as he can, and is actively working on a way to remove or overwrite the data," Roan informed them as he stood, rounded the makeshift bar, and made a martini, offering them each one, which they both declined. "Until then, just do the best you can with it. I hear you'll be going out on missions again soon."

"After Thanksgiving," Sarah nodded, "We - Chuck, Casey, and I - are flying back to Burbank to join Ellie and her boyfriend for the holiday. When we return that next Monday, we'll start taking off Chuck's training wheels, so to speak. I have every confidence that he'll do well."

"With his lineage and ability, of that I have no doubt," Roan nodded, swallowing his martini and slowly chewing on the olives. "There's nothing more I can do for you, training wise, while not the most orthodox style, the kid can handle himself." He withdrew a card from the breast pocket of the dark blazer he wore, "Just in case you need to get a hold of me for whatever reason."

"Thanks," Chuck took the card and shook Roan's hand, "For everything. Now that I know, it will be hard to keep it from Ellie, but I'll do my best."

"I'll help you," Sarah assured him, "Thank you Roan." When the older man nodded his acceptance of the gratitude, the younger couple bid their goodbyes and exited. This was the last of Chucks official training at Langley, although he had plenty of research he needed to do, in the form of old mission reports. Both Graham and Beckman made it clear that they didn't want him to rely solely on the intersect and insisted that, despite his expedited training, that he be given the same information and mission reports to study that all agents and analyst receive during training.

He was seated on the couch in Sarah's apartment, looking over the same report that he'd been studying for the past two hours and was starting to go cross eyed when Sarah walked in and snuggled up next to him. She wore a pair of yoga pants and one of his old Gamma Delta Phi t-shirts she'd stolen from him, God only knows when.

"Hey you," She smiled up at him from where her head rested on his shoulder, "You gonna come to bed anytime soon?"

"Yeah, just going over this file one more time," Chuck sighed.

"Nope," Sarah reached out, closed the folder and tossed it on the coffee table, "No more studying tonight. We both need sleep and if you are so insistent on going over this file, you can do it on the plane tomorrow morning. We have to be there at the ass crack of dawn, so you and I are going to bed to try to get a few hours of sleep before catching our cross-country flight."

Chuck sighed, "Fine, okay," He leaned forward and collected the files from the coffee table before standing and walking over to his messenger bag and slipping the files into the pouch adjoining his laptop, making sure to place his bag next to his rolling suit case for quick retrieval on their way out the door the next day.

Sarah smiled as she watched him. Once he was done, she walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist, lifting up on her tip toes and pressing a kiss right along his collar where his neck met his back. He had a large freckle birthmark there that was usually hidden under his collared shirts. It was also one of the places she knew sent shivers down his spine if she kissed or even casually ran her fingers over it.

"Woman, what are you doing to me?" He chuckled warmly.

"Enticing you back to our bed," She smiled against his back, pressing one more kiss on his neck and whispering in his ear, "Is it working?"

"You keep this up, we won't get any sleep before our flight," His protest was weak even to his own ears, as he knew full-well he was already under her spell.

"Meh, we can sleep on the plane," She whispered, "Unless you have plans to join the mile-high club." She pinched his butt and scampered off toward the bedroom.

"Hi-oh!" He gasped and followed her, turning off lights as he went, "You're gonna get it!"

"Well come on then!" Her laughter turning in to squeals as he stalked into the bedroom, shut the door, and lifted her into his arms as he backed her up to the bed. They fell on to the bed a tangle of limbs as they kissed and undressed each other, "You're certainly up to the challenge," She hummed as he pressed against her, trailing kisses up and down her neck from her jaw to her clavicle.

"You know I can't turn one down," He smiled against her skin as he reached over and turned out the lamp. Those were the last coherent words spoken in for the rest of the night. The only other sounds resembling speech were in reverently whispered and passionate tones.


	12. Chapter 12

It seemed as if they had only just fallen asleep when the alarm on Sarah's phone went off informing them it was time to get up to go to the airport for their flight back to California. It still took them another 15 minutes to finally get out of bed as neither were really wanting to move at such an early hour. They chose to shower separately to avoid any extracurricular temptations which would delay them any further and still managed to leave the apartment on time.

"Why did we have to take such and early flight again?" Sarah groaned, her head resting on his shoulder where they sat in the boarding area of their flight.

"There are only two non-stops between here and LAX, this one and another in the evening, but the one at night would have us arriving after 9pm, which means with the traffic at the airport and in L.A. in general, we probably wouldn't make it to Awesome and Ellie's until nearly 11 if not midnight. This way, we get there around 9:30 am and take a nap so we aren't dealing with jetlag on Thanksgiving."

"Whose bright idea was that?" She groused.

"I believe that was yours, Jen," Chuck teased.

"Shut up," She lightly smacked his arm and laid her head down again.

"Don't fall asleep until we are on the plane," Chuck reminded her, "We should be boarding in about 20 minutes or so. Would you like some coffee?"

"As tempting as that is, I think I'll say no." Sarah shook her head, "I want to fall asleep on the flight. Thanks for the offer, though, Charlie."

"You're welcome," He nodded and relaxed back on his seat to wait for their section to be boarded. Thankfully the crew had no rest issues the night before, so their flight was able to board and depart on time. Within 20 minutes, the door was opened, and boarding numbers were being called. 10 minutes later, they were permitted to board and quickly found their seats. The CIA was paying for their flights between L.A. and D.C. since their team was officially based in L.A. it was on the company to pay for their travel to get to and from out-of-base training. Of course, just like any work travel, it was rare to be able to fly first class unless the mission required it, and they were given standard coach seats. As soon as they received their travel information, Chuck had shelled out the extra money to get bulkhead seats for the both of them. His height made the quickly diminishing leg room on airlines problematic for his long legs, and since Sarah was taller than most women, he figured she might feel the same way as well.

They quickly boarded and put their bags in the overhead bin above their seats. According to their tickets Chuck was supposed to be in the aisle seat and Sarah in the middle, however, when they arrived, they found girl who looked to be about 11 or 12, in Chuck's assigned seat. She had dirty blond hair that had been swept up in a ponytail and hazel eyes and wore a lanyard denoting her as an unaccompanied minor. The flight attendant must have noticed the unsure looks on Chuck and Sarah's faces and came back to speak with them.

"You must be Mr. Carmichael," She smiled at him.

"That's me," He nodded and gestured to where the girl sat, "And according to my ticket, that is supposed to be where I'm sitting. I'm assuming this young lady is seated here for a reason, so I just need to know where you need me to sit now."

"We appreciate your understanding," The flight attendant whose name tag read 'Maria' smiled at him, "We have to sit children who are traveling without parents in the aisle seats so that the flight crew can have easy access to them in case of an emergency. Would the window seat work for you? Your wife will need to take the middle seat."

Chuck turned and gave the seat in question a once over, "I think we can make this work."

"Great, thank you for being flexible," The woman was about to turn and leave when Sarah stopped her, "Was there something else I can help you with?"

"Nothing, this is more informational," Sarah smiled kindly at the flight attendant as Chuck handed his folio wallet to her so she could present both. Opening the folios enough for the flight attendants to see their credentials. Chuck's folio was, of course, stiff from disuse since he'd only just received them a couple days prior. "We're LEOs, I have a pistol and throwing knives on my person." She informed the flight attendant in a quiet voice.

The flight attendant nodded her understanding and let Sarah know that the Captain and First officer were both FFDOs, and that she would inform the other two flight attendants on board about their LEO status, as was protocol. Sarah thanked her and handed Chuck's folio back to him as they took their seats, a moment later they heard a ding from the PA and saw the flight attendant they'd just spoken to shake the receiver of her phone at the flight attendant in the back who quickly picked up, nodded his understanding, and hung up again.

The boarding process was completed a few minutes later, the flight attendants were given the order to secure the cabin, and they were able to push back from the gate earlier than scheduled, although there would still be a line for take-off, since the DC-Dulles was a hub for a major airline, just not the one they were traveling on. As they taxied along in the departure lineup, the flight attendants went through their safety briefing and did their seatbelt checks.

"Why don't you wear rings if you're married?" Sarah heard the young girl ask.

"We're not married," She shook her head, "At least not yet. We're just dating."

"Oh," The girl nodded and held out her hand, "I'm Jenny."

Sarah hesitated a moment and Chuck tried his best to hide his reaction to the irony of the situation. "It's nice to meet you Jenny, I'm Sarah, and this is Chuck." She shook the girl's hand, "Are you going to visit family for Thanksgiving?"

"Yep, my mom works in DC, and my dad lives in L.A." Jenny nodded, "I live with Mom most of the year and then on holidays and the first month of summer break, I stay with my dad, stepmom, and their family. My step-mom just had a new baby a month ago and I'm super excited to meet my new little brother."

"That's really cool," Chuck added in, "I don't have any younger siblings, I have an older sister, that's who we are going back to visit."

"Cool," Jenny nodded as they heard the captain come over the PA and announce that they were next in line for take-off and the flight attendants needed to take their seats. A moment later they were all pressed back into their seats as the plane gained speed and launched into the air. Once they'd gotten into the air Jenny turned to Sarah, "You said you were visiting Chuck's sister in L.A. do you live in D.C.?"

"No," Sarah shook her head, "We live in Burbank, but we've been in D.C. for work stuff."

"'Work stuff?'" Jenny repeated, "You know my mom says there are four types of people in DC, Politicians, Historians, Academics, and 'The alphabet people.'"

Chuck couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips, "And when you say, 'alphabet people,' you mean?"

"People who work for the CIA, NSA, FBI, DEA, you know, the ones who have longer names but only use letters to identify themselves," Jenny gave them both an apprising look before dropping her voice and leaning in so that only the three of them could hear, "I know you are LEOs, I saw you show your badges and ID to the flight attendant. Sarah, I'd buy as a spook, but Chuck, I'm not sure what you are."

Chuck and Sarah shared a look, not knowing what to say to the girl. "I know you can't tell me, I only know about it because my Mom dated a guy who was part of the Navy JAG Corps. Jason was cool, but there was this guy everyone kept calling a spook who was always showing up, annoying the lawyers who worked there. I finally asked Jason, that was my mom's boyfriend's name, Lieutenant Jason Tiner, what 'Spook' meant, and he told me that it was another way of saying CIA or spy."

Sarah rolled her eyes, she knew exactly which agent the girl was talking about, despite Director Graham's best efforts, Agent Webb always seemed to get himself mixed up in JAG investigations. She also had met some of the JAG Lawyers Jenny had referenced and had even been asked out by the younger brother of one of the Lawyers, but it wasn't a good fit, no matter how nice Mike had been.

Chuck knew that they needed to change the subject away from their work, "So, Jenny, what grade are you in?"

"I just started 7th Grade," Jenny smiled, "It's really different from elementary school, took me a while last year to adjust, but I like having my classes in different rooms."

"Do you have a favorite class?" Sarah inquired.

"It's still pretty early, but orchestra is pretty cool, I play the violin. I don't know what they'll have me do in the spring when we do parades." Jenny shrugged.

"They'll probably have you play percussion or something," Sarah smiled, "I think they had me hold cymbals for the drummers a few times, and I got to play the xylophone when I got to high school and we had to do field show competition, you know when the band marches on the field at football games?"

"You played violin?" Jenny's eyes widened.

"No, she plays violin, and I play flute and guitar," Chuck corrected, "That's kinda how we met. Her school was hosting a competition and my band came to it. We met in between sets and got to know each other pretty well."

"So, you're high school sweethearts?" Jenny grinned.

"I guess you could put it that way," Chuck shrugged, "We hung out a bit over the weekend that the competition was, but we lived several hours away from each other. We tried to stay in contact, but she had to move, and I went to college, and we lost touch. We met up again a few months ago when Sarah came out to L.A. to work on a project with me, it didn't occur to me that she was the same girl I'd met in high school until she walked in." Chuck had a dreamy look on his face which caused Sarah to grin.

"I didn't know it was him until I saw him again either," Sarah smiled, "I knew him as Charlie, but never learned his last name. So, it really didn't click that Chuck was Charlie until I saw him, but those curls and those eyes are unmistakable. We started dating not too long after."

"That is so cool," Jenny beamed at the older couple. "Are you gonna get married some day?"

"Maybe," Chuck shrugged, "I mean, if she'll have me, I wouldn't wish to presume anything."

"I wouldn't be completely opposed to it," Sarah added, "When the time is right and we're both ready and able to."

Jenny rolled her eyes, "Why do grownups have to make everything so complicated. I just met you and I can see you are head over heels, forever kind of in love with each other. You look at each other the way my dad and stepmom look at each other. Which is a good thing, trust me. I love my mom and dad and I'm glad they got married and had me, but they weren't good for each other."

"I know what that's like," Sarah nodded, "My parents split when I was seven or eight, it was hard feeling like I was stuck in the middle of them. My mom eventually met someone new and got married. I was in college by then, so I've only met him a few times, but Bill is pretty cool. He was a fireman, actually he was a captain for a long time, but after a really bad fire, the doctors said he wasn't allowed to fight fires anymore. The department offered him another position so now he does fire safety checks, investigates the aftermath of fires, that kind of thing."

Chuck snorted, earning him a slightly perturbed look from his girlfriend, "Are you telling me you mom is married to Fire Marshal Bill?"

"I dare you to make that joke in front of him," Sarah arched an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, I will," Chuck gave her a cocky look, to which Sarah rolled her eyes before turning back to Jenny.

"Are there any other classes you like?" She hoped to get Chuck's mind diverted away from her stepdad's unfortunate name and job title combo.

"Yeah," Jenny nodded, "My school is one of the sister schools with Model, the Deaf school that is next to Gallaudet University. So, we have the option of taking American Sign Language as an elective. I really like it, especially when we go on joint field trips with the Model students in our grade, we usually get partnered up in the same group of kids my group is usually me, Kelsey, who goes to my school, and Dinah and Josephine who go to Model. Did you know that Gallaudet has a Deaf History Museum on their campus? It is so cool! We just went last week Dinah and Josephine knew a lot more than what was shown in the museum. They have shared with Kelsey and me what it's like for them being Deaf. Dinah is the only Deaf person in her family, she got sick when she was like two and lost her hearing. Josephine is what they call Deaf Royalty, her mom and dad are Deaf, so are her grandparents, and great grandparents. Only one of her brothers and a cousin are hearing, her whole family signs, so she didn't even know her brother and cousin were different until they went to a different school than she, her sister, and their cousins did."

"I think that's really neat," Chuck nodded, "I always wanted to learn another language, I know a little Spanish, which I picked up from my best friend's mom. Funny thing is, I speak more Spanish than he does," His admission made Sarah and Jenny laugh, "Sarah, on the other hand, is a polyglot."

"A poly-what?" Jenny furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Polyglot," Sarah repeated the word, "It means I speak several languages. I was an international relations major in college and over the years both in school and outside of it have learned to speak a lot of different languages."

"Cool, what languages do you speak?" Jenny was clearly in awe of the woman beside her.

"Oh, well let's see," Sarah mused, "English, of course, it was my first language, my mom is Polish, my grandparents had immigrated from Warsaw after the war, she was the first one of their family born here, they spoke English, but it was easier for me to learn Polish to speak with them than for them to remember the English words, especially after my grandma got dementia. I took a little Spanish and French in high school and then in college. Italian, Hungarian, Thai, Tagalog, Cantonese, and a little Japanese. Never learned ASL, though, maybe I'll tackle that next."

"Wow!" Jenny looked at the older woman, amazement clear on her face.

"Yeah, Sarah's something else," Chuck beamed proudly.

Their conversation was interrupted by the flight attendants starting their drink service. The three of them spent the rest of the flight discussing anything from movies, to music, and sports as both Chuck and Jenny were avid baseball fans. Eventually, the conversation lulled, and they all eventually drifted off to sleep. Chuck leaned up against the wall of the fuselage, his arm around Sarah's shoulders as he dozed. Sarah had lifted the arm rests between her seat and the seats on either side of her. Her head rested on Chuck's upper chest and Jenny had drifted off, her head against Sarah's shoulder before she shifted until her head lay on the older woman's lap and her legs were draped over the arm rest and into the aisle.

As the plane began to make its descent into LAX, the flight attendant came over and quietly woke them, reminding Jenny while she was there that the girl was to wait until she came to escort her to the boarding area where her pick-up should be awaiting her arrival. Jenny nodded and teased the flight attendant that she knew the drill as she sat up, straightened her clothes, and tightened her seatbelt as Sarah lowered the armrests and made sure their seats were no longer reclined.

* * *

Before they knew it, they were on the ground and taxiing to the gate. Once the plane had parked, and they were waiting for the door to be opened to let them disembark, Chuck quickly pulled down his messenger bag, Sarah's purse and laptop case, and Jenny's backpack that had been stored in the bin directly over their head.

"It was very nice to meet you, Jenny," Sarah smiled down at the girl. "I hope you enjoy Thanksgiving with your family."

"It was nice to meet you, too, both of you," Jenny grinned at the older couple, "Maybe I'll see you around some day. Sarah could teach me Polish."

"Maybe, see how far you can go with ASL first." Sarah chuckled as they heard the door opening and the bell of the jet bridge making its final approach toward the aircraft.

"Thank you for what you did with Jenny," The flight attendant, Maria smiled at the couple, "I've had her a few times over the years, I think this is the first time any passengers have bothered to talk to her, let alone have several conversations and even let her relax enough to fall asleep against them."

"She's a good kid," Chuck smiled, as they waited for the passengers in front of them to disembark from the aircraft.

"She is," Maria nodded her agreement, "I'm glad someone finally noticed. I hope you enjoy your stay in L.A. or wherever you wind up."

"We will," Sarah nodded, taking Chuck's hand in hers, "Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Thanksgiving," Maria smiled and watched as Chuck and Sarah made their way up the jet bridge to the terminal.

It took a while to make it to baggage claim due to the shear size of the terminal, but once they had their bags, they were going to head to the rental office when a voice rang out over the din. "Chuck! Sarah!"

Turning they saw an exuberant Ellie running toward them, Devon not far behind. When she reached them, she wrapped them both in a big hug, squeezing so hard they thought their eyes might pop out if Devon hadn't interceded and reminded his girlfriend that the younger couple needed to be able to get oxygen in order to breathe.

"I am so glad you are home!" Ellie practically squealed.

"Just for a few days, then it's back to training," Chuck reminded her, "We won't be officially back until nearly Christmas."

"I don't care, I'm just happy you're home," Ellie wiped a tear from her cheek, "I missed you little brother, and you too, Sarah."

"We missed you too, Ellie," Sarah assured her.

"We probably should get going, and get out of everyone's way," Devon reminded the group.

"Good idea," Chuck nodded. Ellie and Devon led the way to the parking structure closest to the terminal as Chuck and Sarah followed close behind, their baggage rolling along behind them. "So, is there anything new I should know about?"

"Morgan is bringing someone to dinner, a girl" Ellie sounded just as relieved as she sounded bewildered by the prospect of Morgan actually being in a somewhat stable relationship, at least stable enough that he was bringing her to meet his other, non-biological, family.

"Really who?" Chuck was surprised but thrilled his little buddy had met someone.

"I think he said her name is Alex," Ellie shrugged, "I can only hope she's a real girl and we won't be having to spend all day pretending he's actually feeding something made of latex and rubber."

"Alex is very real," Chuck assured her, "Assuming it's the same Alex who I met the day quit the BuyMore."

"She very well might be," Ellie shrugged as Devon unlocked the doors of their CR-V.

"From what the little man has said, she's a good match for him, she loves some of the same nerdy stuff he does, but also is grounded enough to keep him grounded as well, which is awesome." Devon piped in. "Oh, before I forget, your buddy, John is still planning to come for dinner, right?"

"Last we heard, that is still the plan," Chuck nodded, "It sounds like this will be a Thanksgiving we will never forget. I can't wait!"

* * *

I know I don't usually include Author's notes, as I personally find them annoying, but I used some jargon that some of you might not have heard before unless you were in a position to have heard them. So here they are in case you didn't already google them.

LAX – Airport Code for the Los Angeles International Airport

Unaccompanied minor – Pretty self-explanatory, a child, generally between the ages of 5 and 15 who is traveling without a parent (younger than the minimum age must travel with a parent or guardian, 16 and older can travel unaccompanied). I don't know about other airlines, but the one I flew for would not allow an adult male to be seated next to a girl, but an adult woman could be seated next to a UM of either gender.

LEO- Law Enforcement Officer, may or may not be armed. If they identify themselves though, they usually are and are either on, going to, or coming from official business.

FFDO – Federal Flight Deck Officers, basically LEOs with a corporate pilot's license. (aka, armed pilot most in my experience are former military, and all had to undergo a strict training and vetting process to become FFDOs. Had one on about a quarter or a third of my flights, to have two was pretty rare.)


	13. Chapter 13

Thanksgiving Day at the Bartowski/Woodcomb residence turned the two-bedroom condo into a hive of manic activity. Ellie was up early to get the turkey prepped and into the oven, while Devon, Sarah, and Chuck, taking advantage of the fact nothing more needed to be done food prep wise for several hours, went for a short 3 mile run on a local jogging path. To say Devon was impressed by how much Chuck had improved his fitness would be an understatement. The word 'awesome' was used quite a bit during their outing. After returning and rotating through the bathroom for showers, they all were dressed and awaiting further orders from Ellie who had taken command of the day's set up and execution.

"Oh good, you're back," She smiled as she saw the three of them returning to the living room. "I'm going to need all of you to help me prep food for dinner as well as decorate the condo. Devon, Sweetie, I need you to go to the storage unit and pull out our Thanksgiving stuff. The tablecloth, runner, napkins, and other decorations should be in one bin, the dishes, drinkware, and serving dishes should be in another, and the silverware should be in its own smaller bin. They should be stacked together, except the silverware, that might still be with the Christmas stuff."

"I got it, Babe," Devon nodded and kissed her cheek before going to grab his keys so he could drive over to the storage unit they rented.

"Thank you," She smiled at him, "Now Chuck and Sarah, I am needing a few more things from the store. As I was going through what all I had on hand, I realized I forgot to get some ingredients and we should probably get more wine too."

"No problem, Elle," Chuck smiled at his sister, used to being assigned the last-minute store runs while she started prep work for the side dishes she would be serving. "Just let me know what all you need, and I'll make a list and go."

"Thanks," A relieved smile crossed her face.

"Is there anything I can do while you are putting the list together?" Sarah offered.

"Convince my brother to get a haircut?" Ellie suggested, her voice making it clear it wasn't exactly a joke. "It's starting to make funny animal shapes."

"I actually like his curls," Sarah reached up and ran her hands through her boyfriend's hair, practically making him purr at the contact, "Although, I think you're right about his growing menagerie. A trim couldn't hurt, Sweetheart."

"If, and only if, there is a barber shop that is open near the grocery store," Chuck stipulated.

"Fine," Ellie rolled her eyes as she pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from her junk drawer. "I know for sure we need marshmallows or else Morgan is going to pitch a fit," She huffed, writing the item down along with a list of other items they would need for the day. "Get a couple bottles of both Zin and Pinot, some sparkling cider and champagne, too. Oh, and orange juice too… make sure the champagne is spumante, I think some mimosas would be nice. Get some pastries too, croissants, danishes, or scones would be nice."

Chuck shared a look with his girlfriend, both trying not to laugh as the list grew longer as the list writer began to spiral. "Elle, how long is this list gonna be?"

"Shut up, it's already done" Ellie huffed, tearing the paper off the notepad, and just as she was going to hand him the list she snatched it back, "Okay, I lied, please make sure to get some ice cream and whipped cream as well for the pies… that should be it."

"Thanks," Chuck took the list from his sister, "I have my cell if you need to get a hold of me while we're gone."

"Make sure you…" Ellie called after him as he grabbed the keys to the rental car they'd picked up after their nap the previous day.

"Go to BevMo! for the wine," Chuck rolled his eyes, "I know, Elle. We've been through this routine several times since I turned 21, I know to get the wine from there."

"Good," Ellie practically shoved them out the door, "Hurry up and get back, we have a lot to do before our guests arrive this afternoon."

"Oh my God," Sarah laughed as soon as the door closed behind them, "Is she always like this?"

"Usually it's not too bad, but Thanksgiving tends to ramp the insanity up to 11." Chuck shrugged as they got into the car and set off toward the store to find the items on Ellie's list, "Christmas for us is usually pretty casual. We will bake cookies for about a week or so before Christmas, but on the actual day, we don't do anything terribly fancy. We used to order pizza, now she makes up the dough beforehand and we make our own personal pizzas to eat while we sit around watching a Twilight Zone marathon. In the past it's been the two of us, Devon, and then once Morgan was done celebrating with his family, he would join us. Depending on how many tamales his abuela, mom, and tias made, he usually will bring over at least two Tupperware containers filled with red and green tamales. It's a little weird compared to the usual American Christmas Tableau, but it's our weird little tradition."

"I've never really done Christmas," Sarah shrugged, "Dad pulled a Salvation Army scam every year. He'd rent a Santa suit and stand on a corner and ring a bell while I held a red bucket. Once I realized what he was doing, which honestly didn't take me long, I started skimming as much of the money as I could and found a way to get it to the real Salvation Army."

Chuck couldn't help but smile at that, "See, that's my Jenny, always trying to help."

"For whatever good it did," She shrugged, "I think it's kind of cool you and Ellie bounce from super traditional Thanksgiving to your quirky little Christmas celebration. You know, I don't think I've ever had tamales."

"Oh, you are so missing out," Chuck grinned at her as he pulled into the local Ralph's parking lot, "Just wait until we come back again for Christmas. Mrs. Grimes and Señora Rodrigues-Garcia make _the best_ tamales. Seriously, we will eat nothing but tamales, menudo, and bunuelos for days, if not weeks after Christmas!"

"They really make that much?" Sarah's eyes widened in surprise.

"You should see how much they make for just their family, it's insane!" Chuck shook his head. They got out of the car and started towards the doors of the store and grabbed a cart. "I remember going over to Morgan's house as a kid before my mom left us. His mom, abuela, and tias literally would make and steam tamales for _days_! Once Mom left, and especially after Dad split, they made sure every Christmas we were well stocked with 'good food for growing niños.' Which usually translated to a third of the food being ready to reheat and eat, and the rest frozen to be stored. Ellie and I have always been pretty thin, I think they were concerned with us being able to eat while school wasn't in session. Mrs. Grimes had found out by accident that I was on a free and reduced lunch plan and the food kinda kicked into overdrive after that. This also meant that we were invited over a lot during the summer for cookouts and just dinner in general."

"I'm glad you had someone who looked out for you like that." Sarah smiled as they began to fill the cart with the items on Ellie's list.

"Me too," Chuck nodded, "Oh, we should probably grab some more aluminum foil, just in case. I think that it kind of embarrassed Ellie, though. For Mrs. Grimes and Señora Rodriguez-Garcia to feed us so much, especially since we knew Mrs. Grimes didn't make a lot of money after her husband passed away. I mean, Morgan was on the free and reduced lunch program in school too. There were times she could barely pay her bills. As much as I earned busking to help cover bills and groceries, I quite often would slip Morgan a bit to help his mom cover her expenses too."

"You're a good man, Charlie," Sarah kissed his cheek, her eyes misting a little, "Don't let anyone tell you different."

Chuck dropped his head and blushed a moment before murmuring a quiet 'thank you.' They shopped in silence for a little bit until they reached the bakery. Sarah's eyes lit up and she turned to Chuck.

"Hey, what kind of pies does Ellie usually make?" She inquired.

"Um, the usual ones, I guess," Chuck shrugged, "Pecan is her favorite, so she always makes that, of course, a couple pumpkin pies, and at least one apple pie are there."

"I know the oven is going to be super busy," She gave him a small smile, "So I can't make a chocolate souffle like I really want to, but do you think she would mind if I brought a cherry pie? It's one of my favorites."

"I think that's a great idea," Chuck grinned as he nodded, "She loves cherry pie almost as much as she loves pecan, but Devon and I don't really eat it as much as we will pumpkin or apple."

"It's settled then," She smiled, practically skipping over to the display where boxes of pre-made pies were stacked waiting for customers to purchase them and take them home.

"You know you can put it in the cart," Chuck snickered when he realized that she was still carrying the box of pie in her hands a few aisles later.

"I know," She shrugged, "But it's my contribution and I don't want it to get mixed up with the other stuff and wind up having you accidentally pay for it."

"Whatever floats your boat, Jen." Chuck shook his head good naturedly, "I think that just about does it, we just have to swing through the frozen section to pick up the whipped cream and ice cream before heading over a few blocks to BevMo!"

"Alright," Sarah nodded as they turned down the frozen food aisle, quickly grabbing the last few items they needed before heading to the check stands. Chuck let her go through first as she only had the one item and it would take a couple minutes to unload his card onto the belt.

They were soon heading back to the car and loading their bags into the rear of the Highlander they had rented and took off toward BevMo! Luckily, the trip to the beverage emporium didn't take nearly as long. The aisles were clearly marked so it made it easy to find the wines they were looking for, they even found the sparkling cider they'd forgotten to pick up at the grocery store. An hour and a half after they'd departed Ellie and Devon's home, they returned and, with Devon's help, quickly unloaded their purchases.

Once everything was put away, Ellie began to direct them in an efficient manner that even General Beckman would have been impressed by had she witnessed it. First things first was to divide and conquer. Chuck and Devon were assigned the task of clearing and dressing the table. This included finding and inserting the extensions to expand the table enough to fit all their guests before draping it with the tablecloth and runner. Next came the decorative plates that only came out for the holiday, along with the eating utensils, as well as the wine and water glasses for each place setting. Next were the candles and autumn leaf garland that would run down the center of the runner that already lined the middle of the table, long ways.

While the boys set about their task, Ellie and Sarah began to prep the side dishes and set them aside to be baked or cooked as the day progressed. The green bean and sweet potato casseroles were quickly assembled, covered in foil, and set in the fridge to await their time to be baked, their dry items that would be added later to top off and finish the casseroles were then set to the side of the counter so they could be easily found when the time came. Next they chopped up a variety of red, gold, and russet potatoes, which Ellie had them toss into a large stock pot and covered in salted water to begin boiling to make the mashed potatoes. Next came the fruit salad, a small portion of which was set to the side for them to eat with their breakfast and the rest was tossed with marshmallows and placed in the fridge as the guys were untangling the leaf garland and weaving it around the candles they'd already placed along the center of the table.

As they waited for the men to wrap up their last task for the moment, Ellie and Sarah portioned out the un-marshmallowed fruit salad and laid the various pastries on a serving tray before mixing up the mimosas in the champagne flutes that Ellie had pulled out of the cabinet. Soon the men were finished and the four of them migrated to the living room where the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was just about to get started. They clinked glasses as the streamers burst and the Macy's stars, clowns, and cheerleaders kicked off the parade.

As always, they watched the feed that focused on the Macy's stage where all the performance groups from Broadway, to the Rockettes and other dancers, to the various marching bands and musical performers stopped for their moment in the sun.

"Did you seriously get chocolate croissants?" Ellie exclaimed after biting into one of the flaky pastries.

"Yeah, they're Sarah's favorite," Chuck smiled, sipping his mimosa, "So I figured it would be nice to get some to share with the family today."

"These are so good," Ellie hummed.

"I'm glad you like them," Sarah grinned as she watched her boyfriend's sister saver the sweet treat as she enjoyed one of her own.

At nearly every commercial break, one of them would get up to baste the bird, and then about a half an hour before the end of the parade, Ellie also turned on the stove to set the potatoes to boiling. As soon as Santa made his way down 34th street, the whole group set themselves to preparing for that afternoon's meal once more. Breakfast dishes were quickly washed and set in the draining rack to dry, food was organized in the order it would need to go into the oven, all public areas were cleaned from top to bottom, until every countertop, floor, and porcelain surface shined. Around 1:30, they began rotating through the rooms getting changed into the clothing for the meal so that there was always at least one person in the kitchen watching the cooking food.

Ellie was the last to change of the group and so had just changed into a burgundy sweater dress when she heard the first round of guests knock on the door. She saw Chuck, wearing a nice forest green button-down dress shirt, black slacks, and much to her surprise, actual dress shoes made of a black leather as opposed to the chucks he usually wore, answer the door. Sarah was beside him in a navy shift dress and black heels as they greeted their guests.

Morgan looked remarkably well put together. It looked as if he had trimmed his beard and had even styled his hair a little bit rather than letting it hang down in the bowl cut he'd sported for years. He was wearing a blue and grey plaid dress shirt with a slate grey vest and slacks, and black dress shoes. On his arm was a petite woman with long dark hair. She wore a royal purple wrap dress and peep toe black heels that lifted her to be about an inch or so shorter than Morgan, she looked to be holding a bakery box in her hands as well. As Chuck and Sarah greeted the new couple, Ellie ducked into the kitchen to find Devon in a light blue dress shirt, striped tie, khakis, and dark brown shoes. Tied around his neck and waist was an apron that sported the words 'boun appetite' across the chest so as to not get any food on himself as he tended to the food cooking and baking around him.

"How's that bird looking?" Ellie walked over to open the oven and peer at the turkey.

"Just about done, Babe, and it's smelling awesome," Devon grinned, "Give it another 15 or 20 minutes and we can pull that bad boy out and start baking the side dishes."

"Alright," Ellie nodded, "Morgan just got here with his plus one, we should probably go out there and meet her."

"Give me just a moment," Devon quickly undid the ties around his waist and looped the strap of the apron over to clear his head. He checked his reflection in the window to make sure his hair hadn't been mussed too much by the donning or removal of his protective garment. He unrolled the sleeves he'd pushed back so as to not get anything on his cuffs while he stirred the various sauces that now set atop the stove. "Alright Babe, I'm good to go."

The pair made their way into the living room where Chuck and Sarah stood chatting with Morgan and his date. She saw Chuck hand the new arrivals a glass of wine each before pouring glasses for himself and Sarah after checking which type she would like. Ellie pasted a genial smile on her face as she approached the man who had been a persistent, yet lovable, pain in her side for the past 20 years.

"Morgan, I'm glad you could make it," She smiled at him as Devon reached out his hand to Morgan.

"Awesome you could make it, man," Devon and Morgan shook hands, "Are you going to introduce us to your friend?"

"Of course," Morgan grinned at the young woman beside him, "Ellie and Awesome, meet Alex, my girlfriend."

"It's very nice to meet you," Alex smiled warmly, "All of you, I only met Chuck briefly the day I came into the store and met Morgan, so it's nice to have a deeper conversation than a quick hello. I hope you don't mind, but I brought some apple pie, I work in a diner to help pay my college tuition and it's one of our most popular pies, as well as being one of my favorites."

"That's very kind of you," Ellie smiled as she accepted the box from Alex and handed it to Devon to place on the pass through with the other pies. "Devon, Chuck, and Morgan are practically bottomless pits when it comes to pie, so the more pie, the better in my opinion."

"Trust me, it is much appreciated," Chuck agreed, "It's made the normal way, right?"

Morgan gave his best friend an eye roll as Alex nodded a little bemused by the question, "Yeah normal way, apples, cinnamon, sugar, and a little nutmeg in a normal pastry crust, no big surprises."

"Oh good," Chuck sighed in faux relief, "Last time Morgan brought someone for Thanksgiving, she brought green bean casserole which she'd made with tartar sauce."

They all shivered, including Morgan who had sacrificed and eaten over half of the oddly concocted casserole that to appease his ex, who had made it that fateful Thanksgiving two years before. "Yeah, it was about as appetizing as you might imagine," Morgan shook his head.

A knock sounded on the door and Devon, who was just returning from checking on the turkey, went to answer. "Hey John, glad you could make it," He gave the older man a jovial smile and shook his hand. "How was your flight?"

"It was fine," Casey nodded, "Landed last night and was home with enough time to spare to make these," He lifted the container of mini quiches that he'd made.

"These look delicious," Devon smiled warmly, "Why don't you come with me and you can put them in the kitchen while I get the bird out of the oven."

"Lead the way," Casey followed the young doctor, setting the quiches on a bare section of the counter, making sure to be out of the younger man's way has he pulled the 20-pound turkey from the oven. He watched as Devon set the roasting pan on a couple of trivets and transfer the bird from the roasting pan onto a large serving tray. "If you show me were the flour is, I can get the gravy made up for you."

"That would be awesome," Devon grinned, "Thank you. There's a pot on the stove if you want to use it, and the whisks are found in the drawer to the right of the stove. The flour is in the pantry and chicken stock is in the door of the fridge as well."

"Don't mention it." Casey nodded, taking the hot pads Devon had used to handle the pan and moved it over to the stove where he carefully poured out the drippings into a bowl and strained out some of the fat into the indicated pan before turning on the burner. He pulled out the container holding the flour out and with one hand, he eyeballed what would be enough flour to create a good roux for the gravy as his other hand deftly stirred the pot with the efficient movements of a professional chef, or at least someone who'd performed his KP duties with as much honor as he could muster. Once he was satisfied with the base, he found the chicken stock and added it to the mix in the pot before adding in the drippings. Just as the mixture was starting to boil, the oven timer went off, indicating that the casseroles were ready for their final stage of preparation. He turned down the heat and quickly removed the casseroles, setting them on the counter just as Ellie entered to add the appropriate toppings to the dishes.

By the time Ellie had topped the sweet potatoes with marshmallows and the green beans with a layer of French onions and placed both dishes back under the broiler to finish, the gravy was ready to be strained into a large bowl with a pour spout. A small portion of the finished gravy was then poured into a white gravy boat to be placed on the table. Ellie thanked him for his help and sent him out to the living room as she called Chuck into the kitchen so she, Chuck, and Devon could start setting out dinner.

"Hey Casey," Chuck shook his partner's hand, "It's good to see you."

"Bartowski," Casey nodded.

"Hey I gotta help set out the eats, but there's wine, scotch, and whiskey on the sideboard over there if you want to help yourself," Chuck gestured toward the narrow table where bottles of various shapes and sizes sat, some opened, most still waiting to be uncapped or uncorked.

Casey nodded his understanding and went to pour out a couple fingers of Jonnie Walker while he waited for the meal to begin. Walker was sitting on the corner of the couch, speaking to the moron that Chuck called a best friend who was perched on the arm of the chair, his companion had her back to him as she spoke animatedly about something or other with Walker.

Taking a sip of his drink, he figured he could at least be social and slowly made his way around to greet the three other guests to the meal. He saw Walker notice his approach, but everyone stopped when the younger woman spoke.

"Daddy?!"


	14. Chapter 14

"'Daddy?'" Morgan's eyes widened as he looked between his girlfriend and his best friend's neighbor, who was staring at him as if he were gum stuck to the bottom of his, surprisingly high-end wingtips.

"Daddy, I would like to meet my boyfriend Morgan. Morgan, this is my dad, John Casey," Alex smiled reassuringly at her boyfriend who was clearly petrified, "Don't worry, he's not nearly as scary as he appears to be, he's really just a big sugar bear." She could tell he wasn't completely convinced by her assurances, but she was proud that he stood up any way and extended his, admittedly shaking, hand.

"Casey," Morgan gulped, "It's good to see you again." Sure, he'd worked briefly with the man a couple months ago, but Casey had quit not too long after Chuck did. Casey had been pretty intimidating to most of his coworkers, except maybe Chuck, during his brief tenure at the BuyMore, but he was proving to be many times more intimidating and imposing now that he was being presented as the father of Morgan's girlfriend.

"Grimes," Casey eyed the man up and down, "So you're dating my daughter?"

"Well, I didn't know she was _your_ daughter… er, sir," Morgan did his best to stand his ground, "Not that it really matters… I mean, I would treat her the same even if she wasn't your daughter… that is…"

"Morgan treats me well," Alex decided she'd let her boyfriend suffer enough, "He's never pressured me to do anything I'm uncomfortable with and is very supportive and understanding of the time I need to study to maintain my GPA in my criminology program. He actually encouraged me to take the LSATs and apply for law school when he found out that I was considering becoming a lawyer." Casey arched an eyebrow, saying nothing, which Alex had learned over the year was his way of saying he was listening and considering what she was saying, "He even came by my dorm during mid-terms with enough coffee, energy drinks, and food for both me and my roommate to have fuel while we studied. He even took us out for a nice dinner after midterms were over in celebration because he knew that this is a difficult term for both of us."

"He knows where your dorm is?" Casey crossed his arms, his voice growing harder with every work he spoke.

"Not like that Dad," Alex rolled her eyes, "Not that it would be any of your business if it had been, but we haven't… my point is that it would be none of your business if we were. We are both informed, responsible, consenting adults, and beyond that, it's not any of your concern."

Casey narrowed his eyes a moment and then nodded his understanding, "Fine, I'll give the hobbit the benefit of the doubt."

"That's all I ask," Alex rose up on her toes, pulling on her father's crossed arms until he leaned down enough for her to press a soft kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, Daddy."

"You're welcome, Princess," Casey gave Morgan another look that made it clear he would be keeping an eye on the man but would not interfere unless he was given a reason to.

"Now that that's resolved, come sit down, this bird isn't going to eat itself," Devon called them to the table. Once everyone was standing by their seats, Devon said a quick grace and began to carve and distribute turkey to everyone as the side dishes made their way around the table. "So, John, you never mentioned you had kids before."

"Kid, just the one, and it didn't seem relevant information to share last time I was here," Casey shrugged. The unspoken message that it was none of the doctor's business was clear to Chuck and Sarah, but either Devon didn't notice or care.

"Why doesn't Alex have your name then?" Devon pressed, "I mean clearly you have a relationship; it just seems odd that despite your presence in her life that she doesn't have your last name."

"It's kind of a long story," Casey hedged.

"Dad, if I may?" Alex rested her hand on her father's forearm. When Casey nodded that it was okay, she continued, "I do technically have my dad's name, just not his last name. I was named after him. When he was about my age, he was recruited to a special ops team which required him to be away quite a bit, like for years at a time, and was extremely dangerous. He and mom were engaged and had gotten pregnant with me prior to this. They decided for my safety that I would not be given his family name so that no one would target me to seek retribution against him for anything he would have to do."

"Kathleen and I broke off our engagement," Casey added.

"Despite mom's protests," Alex rolled her eyes as it had been an argument that had turned ridiculous over the past two and a half decades, "But they reached an agreement that Dad would come by every time he was on leave to visit me. As another measure to protect me and my mom, he was allowed to change his name from Alexander to Jonathan. I was named after him, so I do technically have his name, well the feminine version, Alexandria Joan, just not his actual family name."

"How long were you assigned to special ops?" Ellie looked at Casey, "I mean clearly you have a good relationship with your daughter, which takes a while to form."

"I retired from active duty when she was in junior high," Casey shrugged, "But before that, I made sure every moment I could spare would be spent with her; quality over quantity. I'd write letters and call when I couldn't be there, too. Most of the time I didn't really know what I was doing, but despite my failings, of which there are many, she turned out good. I'm under no illusions about how much of that was because of Kathleen."

"He's being modest," Alex shook her head, "After he retired, he made sure he was at every sparring match I had for karate, every debate, even helped me when I ran for student body president then took me out for pie when I lost. He was a good dad, still is."

Chuck couldn't be sure, but he could have sworn Casey blushed a little at the compliment from his daughter, but as he liked his life and the ability to continue living it, he chose to not say anything.

"Good to hear," Ellie smiled as she scooped some more mashed potatoes onto her plate. "It's hard to form a strong bond when a parent is not able to be in the home on a frequent basis. Is that why you were working at the BuyMore, to be closer to Alex?"

"It was certainly a factor when I moved here," Casey shrugged, "I usually find work as a security consultant, but there was no work in that sector when I moved here, and the BuyMore is known for its flexibility with reservists and veterans. Not a lot of people knew, but Skip was an Airforce communications specialist, and Bunny was a naval machinist. I'm a reservist in the Marine Corps, and this is close enough to Pendleton for me to report to in a timely fashion if I'm called up to serve."

"His experience with security is why I convinced him to work with me," Chuck piped up, hoping to take the spotlight off of Casey as the man had already spoken more words in the past hour or so than Chuck had ever heard from him up until this point. "I figure I can handle the cybersecurity stuff, but since Casey has been in the security business for a while, he's a good resource to help figure out what is needed out there."

Sarah, seeing that Casey was wanting the spotlight off of himself, turned to Ellie, "Ellie, this turkey is to die for, what is your trick?"

"No trick really," Ellie shrugged, "Maybe next year I can show you."

"I'd like that," Sarah smiled at her.

"Me too," Ellie grinned back.

"Hey," Devon got everyone's attention by clinking his glass with his spoon, "We have a tradition of going around the table on Thanksgiving and saying what we are grateful for. I can start. I am grateful for my friends and family around this table, especially my wonderful girlfriend who made this amazing meal, with help from Sarah, of course. Ellie, I love you, and thank you for putting up with me."

"I love you too," She beamed at him as he took his seat and looked to her to indicate it was her turn. "I am thankful for Devon, for my job, for my amazing little brother, Chuck, who is finally getting out of his comfort zone, and for Sarah, you have no idea how much of a blessing you are in our lives. If it weren't for you, Chuck would still be stuck at the BuyMore wasting his potential."

"Oh, I don't think that's true," Sarah shook her head.

"It probably is," Chuck shrugged then raised his glass, "I am thankful for Ellie, you are the best combination of mom, sister, and kick ass doctor. Thank you for all the sacrifices you made to give us the life we've been able to have. Devon, you are the big brother I always wanted, I am so lucky for the advice and guidance you've given me since you came into Ellie's life, you are truly awesome. Morgan, buddy, you have been my brother, my confidant, my partner in crime since Kindergarten. I am thankful for you and am so glad you found someone who makes you happy and encourages you just as much as you encourage her. I love you, man. Sarah; words cannot express how grateful I am we found each other again. Ellie is right, if it hadn't been for your encouraging and supporting my dreams, I never would have found the courage and motivation to actually quit the BuyMore and move on with my life. I hope one day to prove you right and live up to be the man you see in me, that I'm beginning to see in myself again. I love you so much… and I'm just beginning to realize how much of a proposal speech this is starting to sound like, so I'm just gonna shut up now."

Sarah smiled and kissed his cheek, "Then I hope someone taped it for when the day comes you will actually need it. Chuck I am so thankful for you, and am likewise thrilled that we found each other again, despite the unlikelihood of it ever happening. You are an amazing man, in no small part thanks to your sister, who I am grateful to consider a good friend, and I can see you doing great things, whether with your start up or with anything really. The way you chose to form a family around you, is remarkable and I am so happy you count me in that number."

"Awesome," Devon grinned at her. She nodded her acknowledgement of his statement before turning to Casey.

Casey looked uncomfortable then gave a small shrug deciding to not fight it, "I am thankful for Alex. I may not have been the best father in the world, but I'm proud of the woman she has become."

"Thank you, Daddy. I love you too," Alex lifted her glass to her father, "I guess it's my turn now. I am thankful for my family, my new friends, and my amazing boyfriend."

"Saving the best for last, huh?" Morgan joked, causing Alex to giggle slightly and Ellie to roll her eyes. "I am thankful for my wonderful, intelligent, beautiful, girlfriend. I am awed and humbled that you find me worthy of your affections. Chuck, you are the best friend and heterosexual life partner a guy could ask for…"

"You really need to stop using that phrase, it confuses people," Chuck groused, good naturedly.

"You always have been and always will be my brother," Morgan ignored his friend's interruption, "Sarah, you found yourself a good guy, trust me, I know. Ellie, you were my first love, and I am grateful you have put up with having me around all these years, even when I get on your nerves. You are an amazing cook, and I hope to one day be half the chef you are. And Devon, well you're just awesome."

"Indeed," The older man nodded, a wide grin on his face.

The rest of the dinner passed with congenial conversation around the table, it filled Chuck's heart with warmth as he let himself relax into the familial feel of the holiday, but it seemed to be missing something. Looking to his left, he saw his girlfriend, who was laughing at something Alex had said, but the mirth didn't quite reach her eyes. Later, as they were clearing the table, he pulled her into the hallway where they could speak quietly, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah," She gave him a sad smile, "I just with Mom and Molly could be here."

"I know you do, Baby," Chuck wrapped her up in his arms as she sighed into his chest, "But just like you said, right now it's safer if they don't have contact with you until after we deal with the Ryker situation."

"I know," Sarah relaxed into his embrace, "Our family just seems incomplete without them. Ellie and Awesome are amazing and warm. They've welcomed me into your little clan, unquestioningly, Morgan is like the annoying brother I never had, and Alex is lovely. Even Casey, oddly enough, fits into this mishmash of characters that make up our family."

"I know what you mean, I feel the same way about my parents not being here." Chuck kissed her cheek, "All we can do is keep moving forward and hope that one day, our family will well and truly be unified, and I have faith that it will. Whether that day is tomorrow, or 20 years from now, although I sincerely hope that we don't have to wait that long, I have faith that it will happen."

"You are an amazing man Charlie," Sarah looked up at him, "You always know what I need to hear. How did I get so lucky?"

"Oh, believe me, Jenny, I'm the lucky one here," He bent down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, eliciting a soft moan from her throat.

"And a great kisser," She smiled at him, "We should probably get back in there before someone realizes that we're missing."

"Chuckster!" They heard Devon calling him.

"Too late," He chuckled, resting his forehead against his girlfriend's before turning and calling back, "Yeah, Dev?"

"I need your help with the table and the pies," Devon called back.

"Be there in a sec, Awesome," Chuck responded before turning back to Sarah, "Duty calls."

"I'll go help your sister with the dishes," Sarah smiled, "I'm sure she'll need it."

The pair returned, hand-in-hand to the dining room to set about their tasks. Devon had turned on one of the football games which was playing as background noise as their ragtag family cleared and cleaned up after dinner and in preparation of dessert. Alex and Casey were at the sink, Casey powering through cleaning and rinsing every dish, pot, and pan used to make and eat their meal while Alex quickly dried and stacked the plates and silverware or set in the drying rack to let the cookware drip dry. Morgan and Ellie were emptying serving dishes, portioning out leftovers for Casey, Alex, and Morgan, before putting the rest in Ellie and Awesomes fridge to eat over the next few days.

Sarah and Chuck quickly joined in, Chuck helping Devon remove the extra leaves and redress the dining room table while Sarah made herself useful by cutting up the pies. Once the table was ready, the pies were brought out and set on the table along with the whipped cream which had been defrosting in the fridge since that morning and was now soft enough to be served out. They also brought out some smaller plates and forks. They didn't really have a set 'desert time' at their Thanksgiving dinners, as they opted to grab dessert as they wanted it and enjoyed the football games and movies they watched.

After the foot ball games had been watched, they all settled in to enjoy their traditional end of Thanksgiving movies, the original 'Miracle on 34th St,' followed by 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Ellie and Awesome curled up on the love seat, Casey took the armchair, while Chuck and Sarah, who had curled her feet up to the side, took the couch. Morgan and Alex had borrowed some throw pillows from the living room and sat with their backs against the couch near where Sarah's feet now rested on the third cushion.

Around 10:30pm, everyone was tuckered out and ready for bed. After several rounds of 'thank you's and distributing leftovers, their guests were sent on their way. Chuck and Sarah bid Ellie and Awesome good night as each couple made their way to their respective bedrooms to sleep off the tryptophan from the turkey and good times they'd had with their family. Changing into their pajamas, each couple settled into bed and their lover's arms as they drifted off into a satisfied sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

They were all exhausted after their weekend in Burbank. The day after Thanksgiving Sarah had been roped into participating in some Black Friday shopping with Ellie. She wasn't a fan of the fact she'd been woken up at 2:00am, when she and Chuck hadn't gotten to sleep until nearly 11:00pm, but it had been fun.

The girls had fun getting to know each other better, bonding, and of course shopping like it was going out of style. They had both been able to find items for their small family's members and had even been able to get some things for each other before meeting back up again for lunch. Both of them had wound up crashing early that night out of pure exhaustion from the activities of the previous two days, much to the amusement of their respective boyfriends.

Since Chuck and Awesome had been awoken by their girlfriends' early alarms, they decided to spend the day on a little male bonding. Starting with a run along the beach near the Santa Monica Pier and ending with some lightweight training and climbing the rock wall at Awesome's gym. After showering and getting dressed, they had also taken advantage of the girls' shopping trip to run a few errands themselves. A couple of their errands may or may not have included a trip to the bank to access their individual lock boxes and ending with a rather awkward talk over Thanksgiving leftovers and beer when they'd gotten home. Thankfully the timing had worked out perfectly as, within a half an hour of their lunch, their ladies had stumbled in, kissed their guys hello, and headed back to Ellie's bedroom where they locked themselves in for about an hour or so. Of course, the guys knew that Ellie would store all the gifts in the storage closet off the back porch, and that from now until the Christmas Tree went up in another few weeks, no one was allowed to go into that closet except to put away wrapped presents. Since they were used to this unspoken rule, and they were both content to wait until Christmas to see what had been purchased, they didn't much mind the restriction.

Morgan, as the newly minted assistant manager of the BuyMore, was required to work Black Friday and keep the BuyMorons in line. This left Alex's day free and clear to spend time with her father. As per their tradition, they spent the first half of the day at the shooting range where Casey showed off some of his newest toys which Alex was encouraged to try out. Shooting had been a shared interest of theirs since the first day he had taken her, at the age of eight, to the range to try her first rifle, a Ruger 10/22 Compact, which he'd special ordered in purple; her favorite color at the time. Kathleen hadn't been a big fan of it, but after sitting down as a family, they had come to the agreement that the rifle would stay in Casey's possession at all times when not in use. He actually still had it in a storage unit back in D.C. and took it out every so often to maintain it. He hoped to one day teach his granddaughter how to shoot the same rifle her mother started with… assuming Alex ever had a daughter.

After the morning at the range, they met up with Kathleen and Mark, Kathleen's husband who she had met when Alex was 3 years old, for lunch. He knew that Alex referred to the man as her bonus dad, and he was okay with it. Casey was happy that Kathleen was able to find someone who could be there for her like he was unable to. What was even better was that Mark was a weapons enthusiast, too. He occasionally accompanied them to the range. However, he tended to favor archery, and had shared his passion with Alex, which along with her martial arts training, all made their daughter well rounded in how to defend herself.

The fact his daughter was able to protect herself, put Casey's mind somewhat at peace since he was unable to be around her, as often as he would like to, due to the nature of his job. He still remembered the day he had sat down with her after a day, just like they had spent the day after Thanksgiving, and told her about what he actually did. Alex had been 13 years old and listened calmly as he explained who he worked for and what he did. She had waited the short time it took for him to brief her before shrugging and saying, "I know." She had figured it out a few years before, and while she hadn't known what agency he worked for, although she had narrowed it down to a few, she had known he worked as an undercover operative or a spy. To this day, he was impressed at how easily she had put it all together from overhearing conversations, to his mannerisms, and how he had to go dark when on missions. Not to mention that the length of time he was 'deployed,' which was the reasoning they used to give her to explain his absences, never quite matched up with how long her military brat friends said their parents were away for. She must have gotten her intelligence from her mother since, Lord knows, Casey had never been that smart, it would have been scary if it wasn't so damned impressive. She'd made a good spy if she put her mind to it, but he would worry about her every damn day if she were.

Saturday, all three of them had met up at Casey's apartment as Beckman and Graham had found the perfect mission to test Chuck's skills. It would require them to travel overseas to track down a rogue agent with ties to a known crime lord. The meeting at Casey's had lasted the majority of the day, and a good portion of the day was spent creating a cover and arranging for the appropriate documents to be made and available to them when they arrived back in D.C. Thus, Charlie and Jenny Carmichael, a tech mogul looking to expand to Europe and his bride, and their personal security man, Jay Cobb were born. Chuck had even gone so far as to hack into public records to backstop their covers, which would free up the department responsible for creating legends to be able to focus on their documents, which was a time-consuming process to create legitimate looking identifying paperwork.

According to the legends that Chuck had created for them, Charlie and Jenny were high school sweethearts who had decided to see other people when Charlie left for MIT. Two years later, Jenny had been accepted to Harvard, and they found each other once more. They waited until Jenny was finished with college to get married, and a year, nearly to the day, later, they were wed in a private ceremony at Martha's Vineyard. Jenny worked as a translator at the United Nations for a little more than a year when she gave it up to serve as Charlie's personal interpreter when he announced his plans to expand his business, Carmichael Technologies, to Europe. Jay was a retired Marine MP who was incidentally the nephew of an old friend of Charlie's father who was looking for work about the time Carmichael Technologies opened there doors and was looking for a chief of security. As the business expanded, a new chief of security was named and Jay was then transitioned into personal security for the Carmichaels, who were getting some pushbacks from competitors such as Roark Industries.

Both Casey and Sarah had told Chuck there was no need to go that in depth but were nonetheless impressed by the work he'd put into their backstories as well as how quickly he had been able to backstop it. They were used to having to wait weeks or months for their cover identities to be set and documentation to be issued, Chuck was able to backstop them in a matter of hours and they would have their documentation within 24 hours of arriving in D.C.

Sunday Ellie and Awesome had to be back at work. Thankfully, their shifts started late enough that they were able to say goodbye to Chuck and Sarah before the newer couple had to return their rental car and meet up with Casey at LAX for their flight back to D.C. Just as before, they were all booked standard coach seats which Chuck arranged to be upgraded to the extra leg room seats, on account of their heights as Casey was just a tad taller than Chuck's 6'4" frame. Of course, since they weren't supposed to know Casey, Chuck had arranged for him to have an exit row.

'Arranged' meaning that he hacked into the airline's booking system and assigned their seats, post-dated the changes, and made them look like they were done by an agent on-site. Sarah had naturally caught him as he had overestimated how long it would take for her to shower. Luckily for him, she had simply rolled her eyes with a light chuckle and kissed his cheek before sliding into bed wearing nothing but his old Quantum Leap shirt, the one he had incidentally worn to ComicCon the fateful high school weekend upon which they met.

As soon as he was done, he's dove into bed, gave Sarah the patented Bartowski eyebrow dance and whispered a reverent 'Oh boy!' before proceeding to devour her. He was reliving the memory when he felt her reach over and squeeze his hand.

"It's time for us to board," She nodded toward the gate. Knowing that they were in the first row and that several people liked to stash their bags in the first sets of overhead bins, even if they had seats in the back, they quickly grabbed their things and joined the line, hoping that there would still be space when they got on board. Luckily, the passengers that had boarded ahead of them appeared to have behaved as the bin directly over their seats were empty aside from some emergency equipment that was required to be stowed there. Chuck stashed their bags as Sarah took her seat in the middle as the flight was going to be full heading back to D.C.

They were both seated by the time Casey got on board. They pretended they didn't see the eye roll or hear the semi-disgusted grunt that came from the NSA agent as he passed. When the flight attendant came by, Chuck caught her attention and quietly informed her that she had LEOs on her flight, "Just so you know, there's another LEO on board in the exit row. Big guy, marine haircut, permanent scowl, and a jaw that looks as if it were chiseled by Michelangelo himself, answers to the name of Casey."

"Yes, Mr. Casey spoke with our chief steward and myself when he boarded," The flight attendant, whose name tag read 'Shelly,' nodded, "Am I to assume he is aware of your presence on this flight as well?"

"I should hope so, Shelly" Chuck gave her a small smile, causing the flight attendant to blush slightly under his attention, "His boss' administrative assistant booked our flight."

The flight attendant smiled warmly at him as she handed the credential wallets back to Chuck, "Have a good flight Mr. Carmichael."

"Thanks," Chuck nodded and took his seat.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" Sarah huffed good naturedly as Chuck fastened his seatbelt.

"Come again?" He looked up.

"Maybe later," She gave him a wry look, causing him to blush slightly.

Chuck rolled his eyes, "I meant, could you please repeat the question."

"I said that you just can't help yourself," She chuckled, "If I were inclined to such a petty emotion, I would be jealous of her."

"Her who," Chuck looked at his girlfriend then followed her line of sight to where the flight attendant he'd just spoken to stood, making no effort to hide the fact she and the chief steward were checking him out and gossiping between themselves, "You mean Shelly?"

"Oh, is that her name?" Sarah arched an eyebrow.

"Careful, now," Chuck warned, "Someone might think you're getting jealous."

"How can I be jealous of someone who doesn't stand a chance?" She smiled sweetly up at him, "That doesn't mean you shouldn't turn down the charm just a smidge, like to a factor of 6 or 7."

"How can I, when I didn't even realize I was doing it?" He protested as they heard the bell of the jet bridge as it began to pull away from the door followed by the dull thunks of the door being closed and armed for departure.

"Oh, please," She gave him a dubious look as they felt the jerk of the tractor pushing the aircraft back from the gate, "You know exactly what you do. It's the same charming smile and slipping in an observation you do that gets girls all flustered… you did it to me in high school and again a few months ago when we met up again."

"First of all, you are not a girl, you are most definitely a woman and I have empirical evidence to that fact." He let his eyes roam up and down her body, not even bothering to be stealthy about it, "Secondly, it's called being a good conversationalist. Part of which is being congenial and observant of the person you are communicating with."

"Yeah, but then you throw in the bedroom eyes and every _woman_ in a ten-foot radius goes weak at the knees," Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Is this you not being jealous, because you're doing a pretty good impression of a jealous girlfriend right now," Chuck tried hard not to smirk, "And you know you're the only woman or girl I give the 'ol bedroom eyes to."

"Ladies and gentlemen, as we prepare for departure, please give the cabin crew your full attention as they show you the safety features of this Boing 737." The announcement cut off Sarah's rebuttal. Once the safety briefing was concluded and the flight attendant began checking all the passenger's seatbelts, Chuck turned back to Sarah.

"I honestly didn't realize it bothered you so much," Chuck whispered into the top of her head as she had already wrapped her arm around his and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'll try to not…"

"Flirt," Sarah provided.

"… be overly friendly toward those of the straight female persuasion," Chuck amended. "But you may still need to let me know when I go too far because I don't always realize I'm doing it."

"Deal," Sarah smiled up at him and they sealed it with a soft kiss.

The flight attendant, Shelly interrupted their kiss with a soft clearing of her throat. "Mr. Carmichael, you need to fasten your seatbelt for departure. Do you need me to assist you?"

"I think I got this one," Sarah gave the woman a pointed look as she reached over her boyfriend, pulling the other side of the lap belt from between his leg and arm rest and making a good show out of fastening the belt and pulling on the strap until it sat low and tight around his hips. She even went so far as to glide her hand over the belt to make sure it was fastened correctly as the flight attendant huffed and walked away.

"Was that really necessary?" Chuck snickered at her blatant display of staking her claim.

"Very," Sarah purred into his ear as their plane taxied its way toward the runway, "I could have taken it a step farther if we had a blanket, but do we really want to reward her behavior with a show? Besides I'd much rather wait to join the mile-high club until we are on the jet to Prague, once Casey is asleep, of course. I hear the bathroom on the CIA jet is much more… comfortable."

Chuck swallowed thickly and let out a small whimper as she lightly grazed the fingers of her left hand up the inside of his left thigh. "Tha-that's just not fair."

"All's fair in love and war baby," She gave him a wicked smile, "And to the victor go the spoils, and I do plan to be _very_ victorious."

The rumble of the engines spooling up didn't do either of them favors as Sarah's display had already gotten them heated, enough that Chuck had to cross his legs to hide the effect her words had on him, not that it fooled anyone who had heard even a moment of the conversation they'd just had. After they took off, Sarah thankfully relented and lifted the arm rest between them so she could relax into his side for the light flight back to D.C.

It was early evening by the time they had landed, and the team members split off, Casey to his quarters at the BOQ, and Chuck and Sarah to Sarah's apartment to wash and repack clothes for their upcoming trip. As Sarah loaded the washing machine, Chuck checked, and double checked, their electronics from their phones to their computers and iPods to make sure that everything was in full working order and plugged in to charge. He also made quick work of making sure both their bags had back up charging cables, voltage adapters, and converters that could be used by most plugs found overseas and step down the voltage so as to not fry their equipment during their travels.

Once the clothes were washed and dried, they made quick work of repacking, making sure to include enough business attire, namely a couple new suits and dress shirts for Chuck, and some dresses, skirts, blouses, and blazers for Sarah to wear when embodying their covers. They also included some casual and dark 'spy' clothes for when they found themselves in a position where they could dress down or needed to conduct themselves with a little stealth.

"What time are we supposed to meet with Beckman and Graham in the morning?" Chuck asked as they set their bags by the door.

"0800, sharp," Sarah reminded him, "We will be meeting them at Ft. Mead which can take upwards of an hour and a half to get to. So, we should aim at leaving around 6:30."

"Which means up at 5:00 or 5:30 at the latest to get ready." Chuck checked his watch, "We probably should hit the sack soon then."

Sarah got a wicked smile on her face, "Good idea, I still owe you a safety de-briefing from the plane ride." She took hold of his hand and dragged him back toward the bedroom.

"Who's yo mama?!" He chuckled as he was willingly dragged back to the bedroom for the long-awaited mutual debriefing.


	16. Chapter 16

Monday morning, Sarah and Chuck woke early to travel up to Fort Mead where they would meet the rest of their team. Once they'd cleared security, a process extended due to the multiple knives and other weapons that Sarah wore on her body at any given time, they were met by John Casey, who was wearing his service Alpha uniform.

"Looking sharp, Casey," Chuck extended his hand to the major.

"You actually look presentable, for once, Carmichael," Casey used Chuck's agency cover as he took in the younger man's appearance and shook his hand. Chuck had a black trench coat folded over his left arm, partially obscuring the laptop briefcase he held in his left hand. He wore a dark charcoal three-piece suit with a pale blue dress shirt and a navy graphic patterned tie. "Lemmie guess, Walker turned you into her personal Ken doll this morning?"

Chuck gave a mocking laugh, "No, if you must know, Awesome took me suit shopping while the girls were off throwing elbows at housewives trying to beat them to the low, low deals at the BuyMore on Black Friday."

"I think it makes him look like a spy," Sarah smiled up at Chuck and gave his right wrist a subtle reassuring squeeze, as he had shifted his briefcase back to his right hand after shaking hands with Casey.

"And you are looking quite lovely today," Chuck added, not wanting Sarah to be left out, which caused Casey to give the #29 grunt, disgust mixed with annoyance. In actuality, Chuck had already complimented Sarah on her appearance in more than a few ways that morning. It started with his jaw just about hitting the floor when Sarah had emerged from the bathroom that morning wearing a black suit with a knee length trumpeted skirt and lilac blouse with a pair of black stilettos. She'd pulled her hair half up, and had applied a light dusting of makeup, just enough to make her eyes pop. Once he recovered from the beauty shock he went through upon seeing her nearly every morning, they had gathered their coats and briefcases to head to Ft. Mead for their meeting.

"Thank you, Chuck," She gave him a soft smile before turning back to Casey, "Shall we go in?"

"If that'll get you two to shut up," Casey growled, "I'm gonna get diabetes if I have to put up with your fluffy interactions much longer."

"He actually really loves us," Chuck snarked as they followed Casey into the briefing room.

The room itself was rather small, holding a rectangular conference table with seating for six; two on each of the long sides and one on each end. There was a triangular speaker phone in the middle of the table for conference calls, and a docking station with cables to connect laptops to the flat screen TV that hung on the short wall adjacent to the door. Casey took the end seat farthest from the TV screen and Chuck and Sarah took the seats on the long side of the table opposite the door so that when Beckman and Graham entered, they wouldn't have to walk around the table to take their seats.

While they waited, Chuck unpacked his laptop and hooked it into one of the HDMI cables, in case he needed to display any of the research he and Sarah had done since receiving the basic parameters of their assignment just two days before. Sarah and Chuck were speaking quietly when the door to the room opened and Team Intersect rose to greet their superiors. Casey, naturally, saluted General Beckman, which she promptly returned before giving permission for the team to take their seats.

"Good morning, team," Graham nodded to the trio as he took his seat at the head of the table, opposite Casey while Beckman took a seat across from Chuck and Sarah. "I trust your quals, training, and holiday all went well?" At the affirmative nods from the team, he continued, "As we informed you on Saturday, your mission is to track and potentially turn this man, Victor Federov. He is a Ukrainian national who has been seen recently in Hungary. He is rumored to be tied to several organized crime syndicates throughout Ukraine and Russia, as a low-level weapons supplier. You are to obtain information on just who he has been doing business with.

"Rumor has it, he will be attending a wedding in the city of Debrecen. Walker, I know you were in the area not too long ago. Casey, how is your Hungarian?" Graham turned to the major.

"Serviceable, not quite as strong as my Russian," Casey shrugged, "I can get by."

"Mr. Carmichael," The General caught his attention as she pulled what looked to be a glasses case from her own attaché case. "We have an Intersect update for you that includes a few skills, namely language skills along with cultural information and a general intelligence update."

Chuck reached out to the case, which was slid over to him, and opened them up to find a pair of what looked to be high-end sunglasses which looked to have connection ports at the end of each earpiece. "Do you want me to do it now or…?"

"Wait until you return to Walker's residence." Beckman advised, "If what you reported about your experience with the last upload, we'd prefer you to be somewhere that you are able to take a few hours to recover afterwards. Tomorrow, you are to report to the medical staff attached to this project at 08:00 to make sure the upload is successful and working properly. With any luck, it shouldn't take Dr. Zarnow very long to evaluate you."

Sarah noticed Chuck go stiff and his eyes roll back in his head, as did the others in the room. Beckman and Graham, who had not seen Chuck flash before looked on with concern while Casey and Sarah waited for his eyes to refocus.

"Uh, General," Chuck cleared his throat, "That might not be the best idea. Did you know that Dr. Zarnow has connections with Fulcrum and has been selling intelligence and tech to the North Koreans for nearly a decade, now?"

"Oh, for the love of…" Beckman rolled her eyes, "I'll deal with that once this briefing is finished. Until we can find a better solution, we would still like you to be examined by the neurologists in the med unit, just to make sure your brain is operating within acceptable limits once the update is complete. That at least will hold us over until we locate another of the original intersect team."

Chuck's eyes lit up momentarily, "General, I may have a solution to your issue, but only if it is acceptable to you." When Beckman nodded, he continued, "My sister is one of the best neurologists on the west coast and does have a vested interest in my continuing health. Considering the rampant nepotism around here, what's one more from my family?" He gave a small chuckle, "When I'm not on a mission, she and I could probably work to study and potentially improve on the Intersect technology to make it safer for upload into other agents. It would not only save me from having to continue lying to Ellie, which would honestly make this whole situation a lot less stressful. I'm sure she would be more than willing to be paid to play with my brain. In fact, she has voiced interest in doing just that since she already thinks I have some wires crossed. It's not like she's going to try to strip my amygdala, or something." He rolled his eyes, "Not to mention, her boyfriend is a skilled surgeon and top-ranked cardiologist, so it might not hurt to read him in as well. Just in case something goes sideways, at least then we could have vetted medical staff nearby not only for agency personnel, but any VIPs visiting the area."

"We will take your suggestion under advisement," Graham nodded, "If we do decide to go with your suggestion, any additions to the team will be made _after_ you return from Europe."

"Understood," Chuck nodded.

"We have put together your travel documents and paperwork," Graham slid a large black button envelope to Sarah, "All were based on the preliminary legends that Mr. Carmichael submitted on Saturday." He turned to look directly at Chuck, "Were you able to find time to backstop the identities you will be traveling with?"

"I was able to do the majority of the back stopping on Saturday and a little yesterday morning before we caught our flight back," Chuck informed them as he woke up his computer and activated the television on the wall. The next few minutes was spent with Chuck showing the depths he had gone to in order to backstop the team's identities as well as answering any questions or concerns their leadership might have regarding what had already been done. He immediately incorporated the suggestions that had become part of their dossiers and made sure his planted backstops were updated to include the changes as well. Beckman and Graham were duly impressed at his abilities as even their most skilled analysts required a minimum of 24 hours to incorporate any needed backstop measures for agents.

"Mr. Carmichael, if you could please set up an email for my assistant in your tech firm cover's server so that she can send the travel plans directly to your cover identity's business email, I will have her send a copy of your travel arrangements to you there," Graham informed them as he stood, "If you'll excuse me, I have another meeting I need to get to." He proceeded to shake the hands of Sarah and Chuck who were closest to his own seat. He also made sure to shake Casey's hand just before opening the door and exiting.

Beckman waited for Graham to finish his departure before continuing. "Mr. Carmichael, if you could send me the information on your sister and her boyfriend so that we can properly vet them to be potentially read into the assignment, I can have one of my analyst teams start on their vetting process."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Chuck nodded and tapped out a few quick keystrokes which were followed by a brief whooshing sound indicating a message had been sent from his inbox. "I just sent that over to Doug Priestley and CC'd you."

"Please keep in mind that this is not a promise of offering them employment," Beckman warned, "And even if we do extend offers of employment or contracts, that is by no way any guarantee that they will accept.

"I know that." Chuck nodded, "My sister can be a bit reluctant when it comes to unexpected changes to her life. Even if they say, 'No,' I appreciate you at least considering them."

"You're welcome. Now is there anything else that needs addressed?" Beckman stood, which caused the other 3 occupants of the room to rise as well, "This meeting is adjourned. Mr. Carmichael, if you have any questions regarding the logistics of preparing for your upcoming trip, please address them to your partners first. Major Casey, Agent Walker, I leave Mr. Carmichael in your capable hands."

The three nodded and watched as Beckman made her way out of the room. Casey grunted something about needing to attend to some paperwork and preparations at the base and would see them in the morning for Chuck's medical evaluation and their flight out to Europe. Chuck made quick work of disconnecting his laptop and packing it away before he and Sarah made their way to the lobby where they donned their trench coats and headed out to the car for the hour-long drive back to the apartment.

* * *

Not wanting to stay in their suits any longer than they needed to, the moment Chuck and Sarah returned home, they dove for the bedroom to change into something a little more comfortable. Namely, jeans and a brown Henley for Chuck, since they had no plans to leave again, he chose to forgo his normal converse and just wear socks. He'd already set up his laptop in the dining nook and was working to set up a cover email for Graham's assistant when Sarah retuned to the living room. She was wearing yoga pants and a large Harvard sweatshirt which had been modified to hang off of one shoulder. Since they were in the middle of winter, she had also slipped on a pair of fluffy slouch socks to keep her feet warm.

"Already hard at work I see," She smiled, stepping up behind Chuck and wrapping her arms loosely around his neck and kissing his cheek, "How do you feel about pizza?" It was already early afternoon when they had returned to the apartment and Sarah figured it would be a good idea for Chuck to eat before receiving his update as they didn't know how long it would take for the information to assimilate into his brain.

"Pizza sounds good to me," Chuck nodded, "Since we don't know how long we'll be out of the country, might be a good idea to not order anything too big."

"Yeah, I was thinking a medium veggie," She started.

"No olives," They continued together.

"Would that be alright?" She inquired over her shoulder as she retrieved her cell phone from her bag and searched for the number for the local pizza place. "If you want to make half of it a supreme or peperoni or something, just let me know."

"Veggie is fine with me," Chuck assured her as he finished the set up and sent the cover email address and log-in instructions to Graham's assistant, Deborah. "Alright, that's done. I'll check to see if she sent the travel itinerary after we've eaten."

Sarah nodded as she pressed 'send' and quickly placed their order for delivery. Since they had some time to kill before the pizza arrived, they settled on the couch to snuggle and watch a little TV. They flipped through the channels before settling on the SciFy channel to watch a rerun of one of Chuck's favorite childhood shows. Sarah had not seen many episodes as she and her dad were still traveling quite frequently when it had originally aired, but she remembered this one. The main character was dressed as a Southern Belle in a beauty pageant and performing 'Great Balls of Fire' for the talent section of the competition.

"You know," Chuck spoke up as the man kicked over the piano bench, "I always thought he looked a bit like my dad."

Sarah looked contemplatively between the screen and her boyfriend, "I saw some of your old family pictures when we were in town and I can definitely see the resemblance. You kinda look like your dad, too."

"That's what Ellie always says," He nodded, "I do have some of mom's traits, I know I got her eyes. My dad's eyes were more of a green color whereas hers were hazel like mine. Her hair was also curlier than his so, I probably get my hair from her, too. I was so young when mom left, and she wasn't home all that much even before that, so I don't have a lot of memories of her. They mostly consist of her telling us stories of adventure and romance and baking all sorts of treats for us. She was always really intense; I think that's where Ellie gets it from."

"I know what that's like," Sarah nodded, "I was probably about 7 when I hit the road with my dad, so I must have been about 5 or 6 when my folks divorced. Didn't have any contact with mom after that, not until…"

"Yeah, I know," Chuck wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close so he could kiss the top of her head.

"And even then, it was so quick, we really didn't have time to get to know each other as we are now." Sarah sighed, "I missed her so much, I wish I'd had her with me as I grew up. Dad did the best he could, but there are just some things that a girl needs her mom for. But at the same time, I can't regret not having her, either. If I did, I might not have ever met you. I would have grown up in Elk Grove, probably never joined the CIA, maybe have been a music teacher."

"You're probably right we probably wouldn't have met in high school. I don't think we ever competed against Northern California schools. Then again in this hypothetical scenario we might have met in college. I know you went to Harvard, but Stanford has pretty good music and education programs, so it's entirely likely you might have gone there instead of paying out of state tuition at an Ivy League school." Chuck shrugged, "Who knows, you might have wound up there and we would have bumped into each other in the main quad or the amphitheater. The Engineering and Education schools are literally next door to each other."

"Hey, if that had happened, maybe then you could have avoided the whole Bryce situation," She shrugged when there was a knock on the door. "That's probably the pizza," She hesitantly uncoiled herself from her position leaned up against Chuck's side with her legs curled up beside her.

"I got this, my wallet is on the dining room table," Chuck called after her.

"Pizza was my idea," Sarah shook her head, "I'll take care of it this time, but you owe me a romantic dinner when we get back."

"Deal," Chuck smiled as he watched her, appreciating how her pants accentuated one of his favorite assets as she moved. Her purse was on a coat rack by the door, she slipped her hand in and withdrew her wallet, pulling out a couple bills. Checking through the peep hole, she opened the door, accepted their pizza and paid the delivery guy before making her way back to the living room and setting the box down on the coffee table.

"Let me grab a couple plates and some napkins," She smiled at her boyfriend who was looking hungrily at the box. "Do you want soda or water? I don't think alcohol is a good idea before an upload."

"Soda is fine. You're probably right about the alcohol, the last upload left me with a pretty bad headache," Chuck nodded, "No need to exacerbate the issue."

Sarah returned a few moments later, plates and napkins in one hand a bottle of water and a can of Coke in her other hand. They made quick work of their meal and settled back to let it digest as they watched the evening news. After cleaning up, Chuck checked his email and downloaded their travel itinerary and, after placing it in a folder, slid it into his laptop case before pulling out the glasses case.

"Are you ready for this?" Sarah asked softly.

"Even if I'm not, it's not as if I have much of a choice in the matter," Chuck shrugged, making his way over to the couch.

Sarah had retrieved a bottle of water and a bottle of generic acetaminophen and set them on the coffee table in case Chuck needed it. Figuring it would be best if he were comfortable, she let him settle on the couch and took a seat next to him, taking his hand in her own.

"Well, here goes nothing," Chuck sighed.

"Wait," Sarah stopped him, glasses halfway to his face. She leaned in and gave him a warm kiss before returning to her original position, "For luck," She explained.

"Thanks," He smiled at her and slipped the glasses on. The lenses displayed text stating 'verifying,' then shifted to say 'Bartowski, Charles I.' followed by 'Identity verified' before going blank a moment. A split second later a variety of images began to flicker across the lenses as Chuck absorbed the data.

Sarah saw him go stiff, almost paralyzed, eyes wide open, as lights flickered in front of his face. Nearly 15 minutes later, the flickering stopped, and Chuck's body slumped. Sarah quickly removed the glasses and found he was still somewhat conscious, although he was fading fast and got him to shift over slightly until he was sitting closer to the middle of the couch. She gently guided him to the side until his head rested in her lap. He closed his eyes and seemed to relax more as she ran her fingers through his curls.

Chuck let out a sigh, the feeling of her fingers running through his hair was pure bliss and helped to relieve some of the pain that came with the download. Apparently being able to simply relax after a download went quite a ways toward reducing the resultant headache from the process. He let himself drift off for a short time.

She knew he'd fallen asleep but was hesitant to move from their present position. She chose to stay still, not only out of concern that she would wake him, but because something felt so right about the inherent intimacy of the moment. She reached over and pulled the afghan that lay over the back of the couch and laid it over her sleeping boyfriend, even being able to curl it around to cover her a bit as well. As she lay her head back and allowed herself to drift off as well, she let her fingers continue to play with his curls. His most recent haircut had left the sides of his hair shorter and was still long enough to allow a little bit of curl on the top. It was meant to make him look more professional, and it did, despite that, Sarah loved that there was still enough there for her the small strokes of her fingers against his scalp to create new animal shapes within his curls. Chuck awoke an hour or so later, with a small headache and quickly popped a couple pain relief tablets, swallowing them down with the water that Sarah had graciously left for him.

"How are you feeling?" Sarah's soft voice chimed behind him as he felt her shift on the couch until her side was pressed against his and her head rested on his shoulder.

"Not too bad, all things considered," Chuck shrugged, "Small headache, but no where near the pounding the original download caused. Not sure if it was because of the lower number of files transmitted or your stellar aftercare, but I do know that from now on anytime I need to do anything having to do with intersect files transfer, I want you there afterwards."

"If that is want you need to be the best host for the intersect, I'm more than happy to oblige," She smiled up at him.

"And I do need, not just for the intersect, but for me, in general" Chuck kissed her forehead.

"I can make that work too," She grinned reaching up to press a kiss to his lips, "Feel up to a test?"

Chuck took another long draw of water and took a deep breath. His headache was already abating as he shrugged, "Might as well."

Sarah then proceeded to quiz him, in Hungarian, Russian, Ukrainian, about anything and everything that should have been included in the most recent files uploaded. The process took about an hour to complete and she was pleased when he answered accurately and in the proper languages and dialects to match the language the questions had been asked in. Once the test was concluded, they noticed it was getting late and retired to their room so that they would be well rested for the events of the following day.


	17. Chapter 17

It was still dark out when the alarm went off, Chuck blindly reached over and silenced it, wrapping Sarah back up in his arms and nuzzling his nose into her hair.

"Charlie, you know we have to get up at some point," Sarah reminded him, tilting her head up to press a soft kiss against the morning stubble on his jaw.

"Don't wanna," He groaned, "It's still dark and cold out there; in here it's warm, and comfortable. Best of all, my Jenny is here, and I love snuggling with her."

"Your Jenny is going to be with you every step of the way for the foreseeable future," Sarah reminded him.

"Yeah, but I can't snuggle with you at whim out there," Chuck countered.

"Maybe not," She acquiesced, "But it's a long flight to Europe, we are taking a CIA charter, and Casey can't stay awake the whole time. We're trained to get sleep when we can because we don't always know when the next time that we'll be able to will be. Besides, it comes with a state room in the aft section… I had a few ideas about some activities that we could enjoy once we were a mile off the ground."

Chuck grinned coyly at his girlfriend, "I like the way you think, Jenny." He leaned down to kiss her before releasing his hold on her and getting out of bed.

"Where are you going?" She asked, as if she didn't know.

"Well, if it's a charter flight, it can go whenever we are ready," Chuck pointed out, "I have to get my head examined," He rolled his eyes at the unladylike snort that emitted from his girlfriend's mouth as he opened drawers and the closet grabbing his clothes, "Before we can take off, so I figure the sooner we can get me checked out the sooner we can get to the plane and onto other, more satisfying, activities."

"You know we still will have to wait for Casey," Sarah arched an eyebrow at him as she watched him pulling his suit and a dress shirt from the closet and toss the jacket of the suit over the arm of the chair in the corner of the room. "We can't leave until he is on board."

"True," Chuck leaned in and gave her a soft kiss before crossing to the bathroom, "But he lives at Fort Meade. If we notify him when we arrive on base, the time it takes for me to be checked out should be long enough for him to get ready to go."

"You just might have a point. We probably should tell him before we start our way up there, in case he needs to be at your evaluation," Sarah recommended as she got out of bed and began collecting her clothes for the day.

"Alright, let me get a shower really quick and I'll load up the car and call him while you get ready," Chuck smiled at his girlfriend from where he stood, leaning against the bathroom door.

"Or we can shower together, save a little water," She gave him a salacious once over.

"You and I both know that won't save any water," Chuck snickered "But I appreciate the attempt."

"So, you don't want to?" She pouted.

"Wait a second, I didn't say that," He grinned, "Let me get the water warmed up while you grab your things."

"I like the way you think Charlie," She finished grabbing her things and joined him in the bathroom where they proceeded to 'help' each other undress and clean the hard to reach, and not-so hard to reach places. Some areas had to be cleaned twice over when their playful shower turned steamy.

The glass was fogged over when they finally exited the shower, studiously wrapping themselves in towels so as to not wind up wrapped up in each other again, mindful that they needed to be on their way soon. Chuck quickly slipped his boxers on under the towel before removing it to run it over his hair again, his curls practically begging for Sarah to run her fingers through them again. Looping the towel over his shoulders, he pulled his shaving cream from his dopp kit and began spreading the foam over his jaw and cheeks as he let the water run in the sink.

Sarah watched as he meticulously rid his face of the stubble that had grown over the afternoon and night hours as she tried to focus on brushing and drying her hair. She was only partly done by the time he had finished, grabbed his clothes and dopp kit, and kissed her on the cheek saying he was going to get out of her way so she could finish getting ready. She didn't know how he expected her to do that when he left the bathroom door open so that she could see his every move as he finished getting dressed. After pulling on his socks and undershirt, he slipped on a white dress shirt, and the black slacks of his suit. Sarah silently thanked Devon for making sure that Chuck's suits had been tailored, she especially liked the way his slacks fit his backside as he leaned over first from his seat on the bench at the foot of the bed to tie his dress shoes then slightly over the dresser as he looped his tie around his neck and attempted to knot it before giving up and tossing the thin strip of fabric to lay atop his suit jacket.

She had a brief reprieve when he picked up his dopp kit and walked out to the living room where their suitcases were waiting to be loaded into the car. After pulling on a pair of nylons in deference to the cold winter weather, she got dressed in the light grey skirt and pastel pink blouse she had chosen for the day before pulling her hair up in a French twist and applying a light dusting of makeup before packing up her makeup and toiletry kits and exiting the bathroom. She smelled coffee brewing as she walked into the bedroom, slipping her feet into her favorite pair of black, Louis Vuitton, pumps; the ones with the four-inch heel. Looking around to make sure there wasn't anything else they would be needing for their trip before picking up her suit jacket and Chuck's slinging them over her arm and making her way into the living room.

She lay the suit jackets over the back of the sofa and made quick work of packing her makeup and toiletry kits in her luggage before doing a final check of their bags to ensure nothing that would be needed that day and their subsequent mission would be forgotten. Crossing to her wall safe, which was hidden behind a generic painting of a vista, she typed in the code and pressed her thumb to the card reader to unlock the reinforced door. She extracted her throwing knives, attaching the holster to her upper right leg, ensuring they were secure before lowering her skirt and extracting both her Smith and Wesson 5906 and the Hi-Cappa Tranq pistol that she had convinced Chuck to carry, along with their holsters, tucking her holster into the waist band of her skirt, closing the safe, and repositioning the painting to cover the hidden compartment.

Chuck had just finished pouring their coffee in to travel mugs by the time Sarah had returned to the dining area. He handed her mug to her and accepted his holstered tranq pistol, attaching it to his belt the way she and Casey had shown him so that it was easily concealed by his suit jacket but still easily accessible if he needed it. Part of his training at Fort Meade with Casey had included firearms training, and while he proved to be a very skilled shot, nearly as good as Casey's decades of military training without having to use the Intersect, he wasn't comfortable carrying a live weapon. The tranq pistol was the compromise he and his team had agreed upon, despite how much Casey still grumped about him carrying a 'sissy mama's-boy weapon,' he knew that the older man at least took some solace in the fact he at least had something beyond the Intersect with which to protect himself.

"You're looking good Agent Walker," He smiled down at his girlfriend, pressing a kiss to her lips, "You always look good to me, but this whole get up is… wow."

"You don't look half bad yourself," She grinned up at him, wiping her thumb over the corner of his bottom lip to remove the stray bit of lipstick that had transferred from her lips to his in their brief exchange. He had been fit when they'd reconnected three months before, but the training he'd had over the last month had filled him out more without making him overly bulky. She found she loved how well his shirt fit across his broader chest and shoulders, and how it felt to run her fingers over the more defined muscles that ran up his torso and arms. "But you probably should wear your tie, otherwise you may get some odd looks once we reach Fort Meade."

"I know," He nodded, "I just couldn't get it to lay right."

"Let me see what I can do," Sarah set her mug down and walked into the living room to retrieve his tie before returning. She gestured for him to crouch down a bit so that it was easier to loop the fabric around his collar where she made quick work of tying a full Windsor knot and tightening it until his rested lightly against the top button of his shirt so as to not make it feel as if it were choking him. She ran her hand down the length of his tie to ensure it lay as it should, and perhaps as an excuse to feel the responding ripple of his abs clenching beneath her touch. "That's better," She straightened his collar and used it to pull him down to press another kiss to his lips.

"Thanks, Jenny," He rose to his full height and smiled down at her, "There's one last yogurt in the fridge and a banana on the counter if you want to get a little something to eat before we take off. I already ate, so I'm gonna take the bags down to the car. I'll be right back."

Sarah nodded and ducked into the kitchen, grabbing the yogurt and banana, eating as she watched him collect their suitcases, leaving their carry-ons sitting on one of the dining room chairs. He pulled on his trench coat in deference to the cold that still permeated the underground parking structure in which her car was parked, and grabbed the keys, tucking them into his coat pocket before wheeling both bags out the door with a small smile over his shoulder at him and a promise to return in a moment before closing the door behind him.

By the time he had returned, she had finished eating and had emptied the coffee maker and washed the carafe and her spoon and placed them in the drying rack next to the one Chuck had used and cleaned while she was getting ready.

"Alright, bags are in the car," Chuck shrugged off his coat, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's get going," Sarah nodded, letting Chuck help her on with her suit jacket and trench coat before donning his suit jacket and coat. They both grabbed their laptop cases that they were using as carry-ons, Chuck made one last sweep through the apartment to make sure the coffee maker was turned off and joined Sarah at the front door where he turned off the lights and followed her out, securing the door behind them.

When they had gotten down to the car, he unlocked and opened Sarah's door for her, handing her the keys as she handed her bag to him and slipped behind the wheel. He closed her door, rounded the car to the passenger side and slid into his own seat, setting both their bags on the ground between his feet. Since Sarah had to focus on driving, he pulled his cellphone from his bag and dialed Casey's number to let him know they were on their way up to Fort Meade.

* * *

An accident on Highway 495 delayed them and extended their drive from 45 minutes to nearly an hour and a half. They were still ahead of schedule to arrive at Fort Meade, but not by as much as they had originally hoped to be. They showed their credentials at the gate and were waved through with directions on how to reach the on-base medical facility. As they pulled into the parking area, they saw Casey who was meticulously covering what looked to be a well-cared for 1985 Ford Crown Vic with a car cover. Chuck thought it was a little strange, but figured to each his own. Sarah pulled her car to a stop and they exited the car, greeting Casey before the three of them entered the medical facility and made their way to the radiology department.

The receptionist was startled when she looked up to see two very tall men, the broader of whom appeared to be very intimidating. They were with a stunning blond woman whose eyes were on constant alert. Pushing her glasses up her nose and smoothing her hair back into its regulation bun, she rose and greeted the trio, inquiring how she could help. The younger of the two men gave her a warm smile and introduced himself stating that he was there to get his head examined, which caused the receptionist to giggle and the blond woman next to him to briefly smile before resetting to the focused visage she was showing before. The larger man rolled his eyes and informed her that the younger man was there for a pre-operational PET scan.

The receptionist nodded and looked into her files, finding the notation for the younger man, a Charles Ignatius Carmichael. He didn't have a set appointment time, his file simply stated that he would be arriving that day, but they had not expected him to arrive until mid-morning or early afternoon. Luckily, there was a technician available to see him. The receptionist invited the man and woman with Mr. Carmichael to take a seat in the waiting area while she took the patient back to be seen. She noticed the look that passed between the man's companions before the man himself spoke up.

"We are actually under orders that at least one of my companions accompany me at all times," He gave a little half shrug as if to communicate, 'What can you do?' "I hope that's not too much of a problem."

"None whatsoever," The receptionist assured him, "So long as they are okay staying in the technician's booth while your PET scan is being performed for their safety."

"That is just fine," The man nodded, looking toward his companions. The older man nodded and took his seat while the woman stepped up beside him. "Lead the way."

The receptionist guided them down the corridor and through a maze of halls until they reached the radiology suite where his test would be performed. She introduced them to the technician and exited the room to allow the test to be performed.

Chuck was shown into a changing room and instructed to remove all his clothing and any piercings and dress in the scrubs that were provided. When he returned, they had him lay down on the table with instructions to not move until they told him to. Luckily, he didn't have to lay there for long, as the PET scan only took a few minutes to complete its recordings. Nor did it take longer than a few minutes for the results to be rendered on the screen. The wait was just long enough for Chuck to change back into his suit. He returned to the technician's office which doubled as the consultation room and took a seat next to Sarah, but not too close as to seem unprofessional.

"Well, Mr. Carmichael," The radiologist smiled at him, "Your scans came back clean. I'm not sure why they needed this information before you departed, but from what I can tell, your brain is in perfect condition. Actually, you have slightly more brain activity than the average person, which is not terribly uncommon for someone with a higher intelligence quotient, such as yourself. I will make sure your results are put into your file immediately so that we do not have need to delay you further."

"Thank you, Doctor," Chuck and Sarah rose and shook the doctor's hand before exiting the office and meeting up with Casey in the waiting room.

The next stop would be to meet one last time with Beckman to get any last-minute information they would need for their trip. Sarah slipped into her car, starting it and turning up the heater to warm up the engine and the interior as Chuck helped Casey in removing the cover from the Crown Vic, shaking the snow off and helping him to fold it to be stowed away in the trunk of the car. Once Casey's car was likewise started and warmed up the two vehicles caravanned over to the Administration building within which resided the offices of the NSA and DNI's directorate.

Once they had cleared security, Casey, being the most familiar with the facility. took the lead. Guiding them down a secluded hallway, he submitted to a retina scan which released the lock of the adjacent door with a soft click. They traversed the hall a bit further to an elevator that took them up three levels. When the doors opened, they stepped into a finely appointed lobby. In the center of the floor was the seal of the NSA. They crossed to a reception desk and showed their credentials, Casey informed the receptionist that they were there to meet with General Beckman. The man nodded and picked up his phone, spoke a few words and hung up before instructing them to head back to her office.

Beckman's outer office was staffed by two young men in service uniforms, one was a USAF Airman, the other a Solder of the US Army. Both were enlisted, the insignias on the upper arm and forearm of their jackets showed as much. Casey stepped up to the Airman who promptly acknowledged him, he introduced himself and his colleagues, stating he had a standing appointment with the general. The man nodded his understanding and asked the three agents to be seated until he informed them that the general was ready to see them.

As Chuck, Sarah, and Casey took their seats, the airman lifted the receiver of his desk phone and had a brief exchange before setting the handset back down and informing them that the general was on a call and would be with them shortly. Twenty minutes later, they were finally ushered into the room.

"Good morning, team," General Beckman gestured to the chairs that sat opposite her desk and waited for the team to be seated. "You all seem quite eager to get started with your latest assignment. I just received the results of Mr. Carmichael's scans along with the all-clear from the medical staff. Your travel arrangements have been finalized, you will fly to Paris, stopping to refuel before continuing on to Debrecen." She slid a large envelope across the desk and waited for Chuck, who was sitting in the middle of the group, to retrieve it and pull out the documentation. "As you can see, we have your finalized itinerary and documentation. When you leave, Sargent Browne will give you the most recent intelligence we have for your mission for you to review on your flight. We informed your local flight crew that you were running ahead of schedule and they are in the process of filing their flight plan and should be ready to depart as soon as you get to the field. Best of luck to you; dismissed."

The team stood in unison and exited the office, stopping to retrieve their intelligence packet from the soldier manning the desk closest to the outer door of the office. Once Casey led them out of the labyrinth that was the NSA headquarters' office, they once again loaded up in their vehicles and made their way over to the private airfield not far from Fort Meade from which thier flight would be departing. They soon found spots in the parking structure and unloaded their bags before proceeding into the terminal to meet the flight crew for the first leg of their journey.


	18. Chapter 18

When the team arrived at the airport, the pilots greeted them. It was apparent to Chuck that both Casey and Sarah had met them before and the pilots were familiar with them, if the jokes the pilots were making about being superfluous as Sarah and Casey could easily have flown the plane instead of them, although they appreciated the flight hours since they were approaching the end of the year. The larger baggage was quickly towed in the hold and the team boarded the plane. The first officer came in not too long after them and began her preflight checklist while the Captain completed his walk around.

What had surprised Chuck was that when the Captain had entered the cockpit, he leaned over and gave his first officer a peck on the cheek. When he turned to Sarah, who had seen interaction as well, for explanation, she smiled and explained that the pilots had been married for several years and despite it not being officially in their files. Beckman was aware of their marital status and allowed them to be scheduled on the same flights the majority of the time, the exceptions being the couple times the first officer had been on leave for the birth of their children who were now school aged.

"As a general rule, Beckman has no issue with relationships between those in her command structure, unless it is in violation of a military code." Sarah explained.

"Even then, she's likely to push through a OCS application to eliminate that disparity," Casey added, overhearing their conversation, "Happened for a buddy of mine a few years back, he was a Staff Sergeant when he met this pretty young thing and they hit it off, come that Monday he found out she was a First Lieutenant. When they found out, they initially were going to let it go, but wound up seeing each other on the sly. When it got serious, he applied to OCS, Beckman got wind of it about the time she had pegged his girl for NSA work. She pushed his application through and extended an offer to both of 'em."

Chuck nodded his understanding just as the first officer shouted over her shoulder that they had just gotten clearance to take off before closing the cockpit door for take off as the captain had already closed and secured the cabin door when he'd completed his walk-around. They heard the left engine start up and the plane give a slight jolt as it began to move down the taxi way. They didn't taxi long before arriving at the runway line. When they heard the right engine join its twin, the sound of the turbines spooling up growing louder, they checked their seatbelts for takeoff. The plane gave a jump and started down the field at an ever-accelerating pace until they felt the first moment of weightlessness as the plane started it ascent into the sky. The plane banked a few times according to the headings they were given by the tower in order to safely join the flow of air traffic for their journey.

A few dozen miles off the eastern seaboard, they reached their cruising altitude and were advised by the pilots that it was safe to be about their business. Since they wanted to go over the mission parameters once more, they retrieved their carry-ons, withdrawing folders and laptops, spreading them over the table that had been previously stowed against a wall and was brought down between them for this purpose. The seats in that section of the cabin were configured to have two forward facing and two rear facing seats to accommodate meetings and create a workspace when needed.

Casey held the envelope with their travel documents and promptly distributed the necessary passports, visas, and other identifying items to the team. Sarah's held the information on Fedorov's previous dealings and associates, and Chuck's held an incomplete list of potential guests of the events that were to occur over the next several days. According to the intelligence, Mr. Fedorov was to be attending the wedding of an associate's daughter, the analysts had not been able to discover the identity of the bride or her parents prior to the trip. Since Fedorov was the primary focus, their identities were deemed inconsequential. Along with the briefing information, several photos with dossiers printed on the back were included.

Sarah had handed the photos to Chuck to familiarize himself with the possible other attenders of the wedding. He hadn't been flipping through the photos long when he began to flash. Once the flash subsided, his eyes shot over to Casey. "Uh Casey, there something you should be aware of."

Casey raised an eyebrow with a clear meaning of 'Get on with it,' implied in the gesture.

"I hate to break it to you, but you know Mr. Fedorov's newest gal-pal," Chuck looked at Sarah as an impish grin lifted the corners of his mouth, "I just thought you should be aware that your old flame, Ilsa, might be there… Sugarbear."

The speed at which Casey lept across the table, scattering files and papers every which way while thankfully avoiding the laptops, was remarkable. Growling as he loomed menacingly over the younger man, he grabbed Chuck by his tie, "Don't you ever say that name again, do you understand?" The hurt in his eyes was clear only for the briefest of moments before he regained his composure and slowly released his hold on Chuck.

Sarah watched the interaction with wide eyes before picking up the photo from where it had landed on the table in front of her looking briefly at the picture before turning it over and scanning the information on the back. "Casey, he's telling you the truth."

"Can't be, she died 4 year ago in Grozny," Casey shook his head refusing to admit what he was starting to know was true, "Must be someone else using her name. Those commies do that all the time, recycle identities."

"While that may very well be true," Sarah turned the photo back over and pushed it over to lay face-up at him, "It's not as likely they have the ability to recycle her face. I'm sorry Casey."

Casey stared at the photo, his finger absentmindedly tracing along the line of her pictures' jaw. He had loved her once, if she had asked, he would have left it behind just to be with her. His mind flitted back to that morning, she had been so happy at the little trinket he'd found for her at the local bazaar and was modeling it for him as he tried in vain to get her to forgo work for a little longer and come back to bed. She had simply laughed, gave him a kiss that promised more later, and said that she would be back before he knew it.

The fear that racked his body as the explosion's concussive force rocked the building and made his heart skip a beat still lived on in his memory. He had pulled on his pants and shirt from the night before, slipping his feet into his tactical boots and securing the laces, all with a speed he'd never achieved even during his time in basic training or at the academy. The scene that met him when he'd exited the hotel was grim, he'd seen scenes such as this throughout his military and NSA career, many times they were worse than this. Shrapnel and detritus were scattered over the roadway from the black hole that had previously been their favorite café, where they had started most of their mornings during their time together. Bodies in various states of brokenness and life followed the reverse trajectory of the blast, many were burnt, but not so bad as to prevent identifying by the local authorities who, by the sounds of the approaching sirens, were close. He made his way through the chaos desperately searching, but the only thing he found was her camera. He assumed her body had been close enough to the explosion to burn up on impact, and he hoped that her death had been quick without any suffering, although he knew the likelihood of that was doubtful.

The sound of his name being called brought him out of his reverie as his partners looked at him, concern evident on their faces. "I don't believe it," He barely whispered, but the evidence was clear by the picture in his hand. She was a little older than he remembered, but the light in her eyes was the same. The only thing that gave him pause was the chain around her neck, the pendant had been cut off, but… could she still have the necklace he had given her that day?

"There's more, Case," Chuck called his attention once more, "She's DGSE, her 'death' was staged. Her agency knew about the two of you and while you were in Grozny. They also had received info about the café bombing and used it as a reason to remove her from the situation. I am so sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about," Casey sighed, "Happens more often than you think, Hell, I've had to fake my death a few times over the years."

"Yes, but your deaths didn't cut you off from your loved ones," Chuck pointed out, "Kathleen and Alex always knew you were safe because you had ways of letting them know it was fake."

"Is there anything else we need to go over before we get to Paris?" Casey changed the subject, "I want to try to get some shut-eye, so I don't get jet lagged."

Chuck looked like he wanted to say something but was stopped when Sarah laid a gentle hand on his arm. "There's nothing more that can't be handled on the flight to Hungary in the morning." She assured him.

Casey gave a sharp nod of acknowledgement as they packed up their workspace. Once the table was secured once more, he settled on the couch, since he figured his partners would want to share the bed in the small stateroom located to the aft of the aircraft. As he watched the young couple retreat into the room, he let out a weary sigh. He wasn't in the least bit tired enough to sleep, which was fine, jetlag didn't really affect him anymore after all the traveling he had to do for his job. One thing he did know, he needed to sit with this information for a while, allow himself a brief time, while his team was otherwise occupied, to build up the wall he would need to get through this mission and seeing her again. He would deal with the emotional fallout once the mission was completed and he was alone in his personal quarters once more. He wasn't nearly as hardened as he let the majority of the world believe, only his daughter and the scant few women he'd opened his heart to, Kathleen, Ilsa, Gertie, had even seen glimpses of his vulnerable side. It was why Ilsa called him Sugarbear, he'd let her see more of him than even Kathleen had ever seen. Opening up to her had been so easy, he just hoped he could get through this with his heart still intact.

Chuck closed the door behind them and turned to see Sarah sit on the side of the full-size bed, which took up most of the room, and bend down to slip off her shoes. He gave her a small smile and shrugged off his jacket, hanging it on one of the hangers that was attached to the bar in the conveniently provided alcove to the side of the door. Sarah had shown him where it was earlier in the flight when she had put her own suit jacket away shortly after boarding the plane. It only took him two small steps to get to the bed where he sat beside her, toeing off his own shoes.

"Jen, I'm sorry, I know we were kinda looking forward to our flight today," He started out softly, taking his girlfriend's hand in his, "But it somehow seems wrong when Casey is out there hurting. I know he'd refuse to admit it if I pointed it out but…"

"You're right," Sarah nodded, "On both counts, and your empathy is one of the things I love most about you, Charlie."

"I love you, too," He kissed the top of her head, "Besides, it's not like there won't be other flights. We have at least one more to get to Debrecen, and then there are the return flights…"

"True," She smiled up at him.

"So I'm thinking we get comfy and really cozy in the tiny bed at try to get some sleep," Chuck suggested, undoing his tie as he spoke, "The big guy wasn't wrong when he said we should at least try to rest so we aren't hit as hard with jetlag."

"Alright," Sarah nodded, standing and reaching behind her back to lower the zipper of her skirt which she folded over the bar of the hanger that already held her jacket. She also slipped off her stockings and blouse, hanging them up as well. She was down to her bra, chamise, and panties by the time she climbed into the bed and scooted over toward the far wall against which one of the long sides of the bed was secured.

Chuck, likewise, didn't waste any time stripping himself of his tie, shirt, slacks and socks, hanging and folding them so they wouldn't get wrinkled. Clad in his undershirt and boxers, he slipped under the covers and pulled Sarah into his arms until her head rested on his chest and her legs entwined themselves with his in their favorite sleeping position. The combination of their early start, the mission prep they had been doing since before the left Burbank, as well as the travel that they had done over the past week or so, and the exhaustion of everything that had been going on since they had reconnected settled over them, leading them to drift off into a peaceful sleep that lasted nearly the full remaining length of the flight.

They'd had just enough time to wake, dress, and fix their appearance before Casey knocked on the door to the stateroom informing them that they'd better come take their seats for landing. When they'd emerged from the room, they saw Casey in one of the rear facing seats, buckled in for landing and took their seats opposite him, securing their seatbelts just in time for their final descent into section of the Charles De Gaulle airport designated for charter and private flights. When they had taxied to the gate and the door opened the team and their flight crew busied themselves collecting their various bags and departed the plane to clear customs.

Thankfully, it didn't take long to clear customs as they had shipped their weapons and more sensitive equipment to the consulate where they would be picking them up the next day upon their arrival in Hungary. Since the pilots legally needed to rest after the long flight, the five of them split up, in order to maintain their covers, Chuck and Sarah as well as Casey were booked in a high-end hotel for the night and he pilots were put in a mid-level accommodation.

When Chuck had found out that they would be overnighting in Paris, he had been excited to take in the sights, especially the Eiffel Tower, which he'd been fascinated by since he was a young child. His enthusiasm dimmed slightly when Sarah had pointed out, as gently as she could, that their stop over wasn't going to be long enough to do more than eat a quick dinner, sleep, grab something on the way to the plane for breakfast, and take off again. This, however, was followed up by a promise that they would come back again someday when they had all the time they needed to explore and enjoy the city.

Chuck tried not to stare in awe at the grandeur of the hotel with its high ceilings and elegant chandelier in the lobby. He had never dreamed he would be allowed into a place such as this, not even when he had first entered Stanford with the dream of making a name for himself in the tech industry, did he think he would make it to the level of such opulence. Of course, with the elegant Sarah Walker on his arm, he at least looked as if he might possibly belong there despite feeling like a total fraud. Pushing all this to the side, he approached the front desk as confidently as he could to check into tnhe rooms that they would be occupying for the night, making a point to ensure Casey was put into a room adjoining the suite that Sarah and himself would be using. This gave Casey the illusion of easy access to his 'employers' for security purposes, but also left a rather large living area between his room and theirs so as to not be disturbed by any extracurricular activities they may wish to engage in.

Once they had received their room keys and a porter had been called by the front desk to deliver their bags to their rooms, they made their way upstairs. The three of them stayed in the living area, Chuck and Sarah seated close together on the sofa and Casey in a chair nearby. They could easily follow the movements of the porter in each room from their vantage points, in case he tried something he shouldn't. It only took a few moments for the young man to unpack their toiletries and place them in the bathroom as well as their charging stations for their phones which were placed on the dresser of the room. He had been under strict instruction to not disturb their clothing as they would be only staying the night. When he indicated his work was done, Chuck tipped him generously and sent him on his way while Casey swept the rooms for bugs.

When Casey was satisfied the rooms were clean, he made a point to inform his partners that his adjoining door was going to be locked the remainder of the night and he was to not be disturbed for any reason. Chuck and Sarah nodded their understanding and retreated to their own room for the night. Changing into their pajamas, they slipped into the large bed which was much more luxurious than the small bed in the state room of the jet they'd flown in on. Their intention was to simply snuggle until sleep overtook them, but after a bit, the snuggling lent to small kisses between them, which progressed to making out, and concluded in them tired and spent after indulging in a round of love making as they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

They were awoken the next morning by Casey pounding on their door telling them to get a move on. As it turned out, they had forgotten to set their alarms, so Casey's abrupt wake-up call was helpful for them. Sarah called back that they would be out shortly as she and Chuck slid out of bed and quickly got ready for their day, Sarah showering first while Chuck shaved, then switching places so that Chuck could shower quickly as Sarah dried and styled her hair and did her make up. After quickly dressing and packing up the items they had used the previous night, checking that nothing was left behind, they joined Casey in the living area of he large suite where an assortment of breakfast pastries, fruit, and coffee sat waiting for them. They ate quickly while they waited for the porter to retrieve their luggage to take them out to the SUV that would return them to the airport.

The pilots had beaten them to the airport, completed their walk around, and were already in the cockpit with the heater warming the aircraft by the time the team had arrived. As soon as the ground crew had stowed their luggage, the first officer closed the main cabin door before returning to the cockpit and closing the door behind herself. A moment later they heard the breaks disengage and felt the plane begin to taxi. The captain informed them that it might be a bit before they could take off as they were in line behind all the larger, mainline and regional, aircraft for take-off. A half hour later they heard the engines roar to life as they started down the runway, launching into the sky on their way to Debrecen.


	19. Chapter 19

The drive to the airport was a relatively short 15-minutes. By the time the team had cleared security in the private terminal and been escorted out to their plane, the pilots had already completed their walk-around, started up the auxiliary power unit, and had the heater on the plane already running so that the cabin was at a comfortable temperature. The pilots greeted the team as they boarded and closed the door while they all waited for the ground crew loaded up their luggage. Soon the captain was confirming with the first officer that the fuel weight needed was within the parameters for weight and balance before calling his order in for fuel. Less than 20 minutes later the captain is given the thumbs up that the fuelers are done. With the tower approving their flight plan, and given the go-ahead to taxi to the line, they were ready to take off.

Casey nodded off not too long after they reached altitude, so Chuck and Sarah made their way to the stateroom at the aft of the aircraft to have their fun without being harassed by the elder member of their team. They awoke, sated, in each other's arms about 45 minutes before arrival in Debrecen and quickly dressed. Casey gave them a knowing look, but said nothing as the young couple made their way to the galley to grab a quick lunch of premade sandwiches and bottled water before joining their partner, who was finishing up his own meal, to run over the set up one last time before arriving in Hungary.

They had just tossed their debris in the trash when the captain announced they were beginning their decent into Debrecen and that they needed to take their seats in preparation for arrival. The flight time in total from the time they blocked out in Paris to the time the chalks were placed in Debrecen, was just under two and a half hours. As they had before, they cleared customs with their carry-ons as the rest of their luggage was sent through customs and to the baggage claim area of the customs office. Once the pilots made sure the team had both their numbers, they confirmed they would not be needed for a few days at the least, after which the team would check in with them daily to update their departure date.

The team had reservations at the Belga Boutique Hotel where, according to their intel, the wedding party, as well as the majority of the guests, would be staying. The pilots were put up in a hotel not too far off which boasted a spa which the first officer had already informed them she planned to take full advantage of. A statement that made the captain roll his eyes until she enticed him with the idea of a private couples' massage on their wedding anniversary which, incidentally, was the next night.

Two CIA-owned SUVs met them outside in the passenger pickup area, but a distance apart, each with a CIA agent dressed as a chauffeur and holding a sign, one with the last name of the pilots, and one with the name 'Carmichael' written across in blocky script.

"Showtime," Chuck hummed in Sarah's ear as he wrapped his right arm around her waist and guiding them to the SUV that awaited them while Casey followed a few feet behind pushing a baggage trolley piled up with their suitcases. After exchanging handshakes with their 'driver' Sarah and Chuck slid into the back seat while Casey and the driver, a man who identified himself as Joel Newsom, loaded up the luggage before taking their seats up front. As they drove, Chuck pulled a small blue velveteen box from his pocket. "Jenny," He caught her attention, opening the box to reveal a beautiful, cushion-cut solitaire in a halo setting with diamonds inlaid into the platinum bands of both the wedding and engagement rings, the stones winking and shimmering in the early afternoon light.

"Those are beautiful," Sarah whispered, awed at the beauty of the set.

"May I?" Chuck offered, lifting the rings from the box. Sarah said not a word, holding out her left hand as he slipped the wedding ring onto the ring finger of her left hand, his eyes never leaving hers. He repeated the process with the engagement ring before cradling her fingers in his hand as he lifted her hand to press a soft kiss on the knuckle against which the wedding set now rested. The couple shared a warm smile before Chuck closed the blue box and removed a smaller black box from his pocket, lifting the lid to reveal a wedding ring in a thicker style that is common for men's rings. It was a platinum band with seven channel set diamonds along the top of the band. Lifting the ring from its box, he moved to slip it on to his left hand when Sarah stopped him, plucking the ring from his fingers.

"May I?" She echoed him, slipping the ring over his finger until it rested, securely, at the base of his ring finger. She then took his left hand in her own hands, right hand below and left hand atop his, their matching rings shimmering in the cold winter's light. The sight of the rings on their fingers looking right in a way that made her hope to see a similar sight one day, but perhaps with a set that was more her style. The set was lovely, but a bit too opulent for her liking.

They barely resisted the temptation to make out in the back seat, not wanting to make their driver uncomfortable. If it had been only them and Casey, all bets would have been off. The SUV soon turned off the roadway and into the curved drive of the hotel where a bellman met them, opening their doors and offering a hand to Sarah as she and the men stepped out and waited for the bellman to unload their baggage and stack it on his cart.

The bellman followed them inside and waited patiently as Chuck and Casey checked into their rooms. Casey's luggage was dropped first before the bellman followed the younger couple up to their room and waited until Chuck had scooped up a giggling Sarah up in his arms and carried her over the threshold to unload the bags into the closet and dresser provided in the suite. After Chuck made sure to tip the bellman well and thank him, he closed the door behind the uniformed hotel employee and turned back to Sarah who stood, leaned against the bedroom door, smiling at him.

"Well Mrs. Carmichael," Chuck gave her a sly grin, "Care to make this place our own?"

"I don't know, Mr. Carmichael," Sarah teased back, "What exactly did you have in mind."

"Oh, a great many things," Chuck growled low in his throat as he stepped over to stand in front of him, eyes sparkling mischievously as he leaned down to hover over her trapping her between his body and the door frame. She closed her eyes and felt his warm breath brush over her cheeks, rippling her lashes enough to tickle her which brought a bright blush to her face. When her eyes opened, she was looking straight into the warm, fathomless hazel eyes of her boyfriend and partner.

Chuck took the slight blush that rose to Sarah's cheeks as a sign to continue as he lowered his head closer to hers and pressed a soft kiss which was soon comfortably progressing further. An hour later, they were relaxing in their suite's lush bed, enjoying the brief respite before getting into the mission. The hotel had a social hour every evening that they were planning to attend in hopes that they might spot Federov or one of his associates.

"We probably should start getting ready to head downstairs," Chuck sighed, his hand drawing lazy circles on his girlfriend's bare shoulder.

"I don't want to," Sarah sighed, nuzzling into his chest, "I'm too comfortable."

"I am too," He pressed a kiss to her forehead, "But I think we both know if we don't head down soon, Casey will come looking for us."

"I hate Casey," Sarah moaned.

"No, you don't," He chuckled, "How about this? We shower together, you can slip into something temptingly sexy before we head downstairs. I'll let you ply me with booze until I agree to let you drag me back upstairs to have your way with me."

"Fine," Sarah groaned, pushing up and out of his arms, "But for the record, you play dirty, Mr. Carmichael."

"Never," He mock scoffed, "I'm just a man who knows how to do what he needs to and how to get what he wants, Mrs. Carmichael."

Sarah rolled her eyes as she slipped out of the bed and sauntered her way, naked, over to the ensuite bathroom, "Are you coming?"

"Now who's fighting dirty?" Chuck snickered, hopping out bed and chasing her into the bathroom their laughter soon blended with the sound of the shower and the sighs they elicited from each other echoing off the tile of the luxurious bathroom.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, a knock sounded on the door connecting their suites. Chuck buttoned the last few buttons of his dress shirt as he ambled over to the living area of the suite, making sure to close the bedroom door behind him, knowing Sarah was still doing her hair and makeup and wasn't decent quite yet.

"It's about time you answered," Casey grunted when Chuck opened the door and invited him in. "Need I remind you that this is not a vacation and we have actual work to do here?"

"Casey, we have traveled halfway around the world," Chuck reminded him, gesturing for the older man to take a seat in an armchair while he took a seat on the divan, "We thought we should get some rest while we could to try to avoid jet lag."

"Whatever," Casey grunted, "While you and Walker were playing fill the palacsinta, I was on the line with Beckman. Seems we aren't the only one using this joyous occasion to do a little spy work. In addition to Ilsa, there is a MI-6 team as well."

"Are we to make contact with them?" Sarah asked, exiting the bedroom, her hair in a stylish updo, wearing a short, midnight blue, cocktail dress, a pair of silver pumps and fastening a pair of diamond drop earrings to her ears.

"Yes," Casey rolled his eyes, "According to Beckman we have to play nice with the limeys. It's a man and woman team undercover as a couple… where have we heard that before?"

Sarah and Chuck rolled their eyes at Casey, "Do we have aliases or a way to identify them?" Sarah inquired, taking a seat next to Chuck.

"No," Casey shook his head, "But there's a chance that your boytoy's CPU might ping on 'em."

"Hey, I resemble that remark," Chuck feigned protest.

"To which? You being my boytoy or that you are part of the Borg?" Sarah arched an eyebrow at her boyfriend.

"Both," Chuck shrugged, "I had no choice; resistance was futile in either matter."

"If I wanted to hear cutesy banter, I would have stayed in Cali with my daughter and her idiot hobbit of a boyfriend." Casey groused. "I'm going to try to make contact with Ilsa; see if she has any information we can use to turn Federov. You two be on the lookout for his cronies and the limeys."

"Gotcha," Chuck nodded.

"We can share our findings over breakfast," Sarah added, "Casey, why don't you head on down now and Chuck and I will follow shortly."

Casey grunted his agreement and took his leave from the suite to let Chuck and Sarah finish getting ready for the night. Since it was supposed to be somewhat casual, Chuck had opted to wear a medium grey suit with a pale dress shirt with the feintest hint of a lilac hue and no tie. He fastened his watch communicator to his wrist and helped Sarah on with her own bracelet communicator before pulling out the earwigs handing one to Sarah and claiming the other for himself. Once he was sure they were working correctly, he checked his pockets for his wallet with his cover ID and credit cards and key card before slipping on his suit jacket and helping Sarah on with her wrap. Within minutes they were ready to head down to the lounge.

"In case I forgot to say so, you look beautiful tonight, Jenny," He whispered in her free ear as the car descended.

"Thank you," She gave him a warm smile as she turned to straighten his lapels and make sure his shirt was not wrinkled, her rings glimmering in the low light of the car. "You look pretty dapper yourself, Charlie."

"You ready to do this?" He asked, capturing her hands against his chest from where they were still smoothing the non-existent wrinkles out his shirt; an obvious ploy to have an excuse for her to touch him.

"As I'll ever be," She gave him a quick peck on his lips and wiped away the bit of lipstick that transferred at the contact with her fingers as the elevator doors slid open. Chuck offered his arm to hers and she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, allowing him to lead her to the evening's social event.

* * *

The lounge was buzzing with activity by the time they entered, many were seated at the various tables, high-tops, and booths throughout the social space, with a few people leaning against the bar speaking to the bartenders who were quickly mixing and distributing drinks for the waitstaff and patrons alike. Chuck and Sarah didn't see Casey when they entered and made their way to the bar, casually looking about as if in search of an available table.

"Care for a drink?" Chuck nodded toward a newly vacated stool at the bar.

"I would love one," Sarah smiled up at her boyfriend who deftly maneuvered them through the crowd to the bar, assisting her onto the stool before catching the bartender's attention, ordering a white wine for Sarah and a whiskey neat for himself.

A few minutes later, Casey's presence was announced over their earwigs, "So many Russians…"

"What did you expect, big guy?" Chuck scratched his cheek as he spoke under his breath into his wrist com. He handed Sarah her drink and lifted his glass to his lips to cover his next point. "And isn't that a little like the pot calling the kettle black? Your mother's maiden name is Stepanova."

"You leave my mother out of this," Casey growled back.

"Boys, focus," Sarah chided them, slight amusement coloring her voice. "Have either of you spotted our contacts?"

"Not yet," Casey reported.

Chuck scanned the room once more catching sight of a man who looked to be in his mid-30's with short dark hair and a bit of scruff, leaned over whispering in the ear of a woman in her late 20's with shoulder length brunette hair who was smiling as if he said something amusing. Chuck leaned over as if he were whispering flirty little nothings in her ear to hide both the fact he was flashing and his report, which he made thanks to Sarah placing her hand on his cheek, allowing him to communicate via her bracelet com that he had spotted the MI-6 team.

"Well what are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?" Casey challenged over his coms, "Get over there and make contact."

"Give him a moment, Casey," Sarah huffed under her breath, "It looked like it was a big one."

"I'm good," Chuck nodded after a moment, and gave Sarah a warm smile, offering his arm to her, "Shall we go see if we can't make some new friends?"

Sarah nodded and linked her arm through his as he guided her through the throng of people to the booth where the MI6 team was seated.

"Excuse us," Chuck addressed the couple in Hungarian and gave them a charming smile, "But would you mind if my wife and I joined you? The lounge is so full, we can't seem to find any other seating, and since you two are the only ones here who are remotely our age…"

"Of course," The man returned with a dashing grin of his own, "Please, we could use the company."

"Thank you," Chuck nodded, taking Sarah's wine glass so she could slide into the booth then handing both glasses to her so he could do the same.

"Hello Cole," Sarah gave the British man a humored smile.

"Agent Walker," Cole let out a wry laugh then spared a look toward Chuck, "And you are?"

"Charles Carmichael," Chuck offered his hand across the table, "It's a pleasure to meet you Agent Barker, I've heard nothing but good things."

"Interesting," Cole shook his hand, "I've heard nothing of you."

"He's new to the company," Sarah gave Chuck a secretive smile, "But you probably know him better as Piranha."

The eyes of the British agents widened in recognition, "How? I thought he was untraceable!"

"Still am," Chuck grinned proudly, "A friend of mine got me back in contact with Jenny."

"Jenny?" Cole arched an eyebrow.

"Jenny Carmichael," Sarah stated as means of explanation.

"Ah, so your cover is as a married couple," Cole nodded understandingly, "But I still don't know why a hacker is needed on your mission. Which is what, by the way?"

"Locate Victor Federov and see if we can't get him to roll over on some of his associates," Sarah provided

"Ah, now I see why a hacker might come in handy," Cole smirked, "If he won't talk, Piranha here will do a deep dive on him."

"Pretty much, yeah," Chuck took a sip from his whiskey.

"And what are the two of you here for?" Sarah looked between Cole and his partner.

"Believe it or not," Cole chuckled and sent a loving look to the woman seated beside him, "We're getting married. I was sent undercover to investigate a particular Russian businessman. All I was told was that there was already someone on the inside. I never imagined my assignment would come to this."

"They're making you get married?" Chuck gave them a puzzled look.

"No," The woman shook her head with a gentle smile, "Neither the ministry nor the man we are investigating is requiring this of us."

"I never thought I'd ever have cause to say these words and truly mean it," Cole grinned, "But I love Vivian dearly and want to be her husband in the fullest extent of the word."

"That is surprising," Sarah smiled, "I never thought I would live to see the day that Cole Barker actually fell in love."

"Congratulations, you two," Chuck raised his glass in toast to them, "To Cole Barker and Vivian… I'm sorry I didn't catch your last name."

"McArthur is my surname," Vivian provided, "Well, McArthur-Winterbottom, but that's a bit of a mouthful, my cover name is…"

"Vivian Volkoff…" Chuck murmured as he flashed, earning him concerned looks from the others at his table. A moment later, his eyes refocused.

"Charlie, Baby, are you okay?" Sarah gave him an evaluating look.

"I'm fine," Chuck shook his head to clear it a bit, "It just caught me off guard is all. She is Alexei Volkoff's daughter."

Sarah's eyes widened as she looked toward the bride to be, "I don't understand."

"You might not, but I think your partner understands more than he's letting on," Vivian gave Chuck an evaluating look.

"Perhaps we should take this somewhere a little more private?" Cole suggested.

"I think that's a good idea," Chuck nodded, "I have a feeling there are some things that we all need to discuss."

"I'm assuming Volkoff has your rooms bugged," Sarah looked between Vivian and Cole who nodded in confirmation, "Why don't your come by ours, give us a little bit of a head start. We swept our suite when we arrived, but it couldn't hurt to do another sweep."

"It will also give us time to get a hold of our directors to confirm what we can and cannot share," Chuck added.

"Agreed," Cole nodded and stood. He exchanged a handshake with Chuck, which allowed the men to pass Chuck's room key between them and welcomed a kiss on the cheek from Sarah who whispered their suite number in his ear before retreating.

Chuck and Sarah headed toward their room, advising Casey of what was going on and that they would meet him in the morning with more details. Receiving a grunt that indicated the NSA agent's acknowledgement and confirmation he would continue to observe the lounge a bit longer.

* * *

The couples entered the Carmichaels' suite silently. Chuck ducked into the bedroom and returned with a couple handheld devices. Once he and Sarah had swept the room and were satisfied that it was still clear of bugs, Chuck returned the bug detectors as Sarah offered their guests a seat and something to drink. By the time Chuck had returned with his laptop and a secure hotspot, Sarah had poured glasses of white wine for herself and Vivian and two scotches for Chuck and Cole.

"Just give me a moment to set this up so it's ready to go when we get around to briefing our people." Chuck gave the group a smile as he turned to his work. After making sure everything was connected, he joined Sarah on the divan and accepted his drink. As Vivian already surmised, I have a little more information than some of the rest of you."

"What can you tell us, Charlie?" Sarah went with Chuck's cover name so they all could get used to using it for the duration of the operation.

"Vivian and I actually knew each other as children," Chuck looked at the brunette, "Although I doubt you remember me, we were pretty young the last time we saw each other."

"You may have a point there," Vivian shrugged, "I do not recall anyone named Carmichael…"

"You wouldn't, but does the name Stephen Bartowski ring a bell?" Chuck gave her a pointed look.

"Oh my God," Vivian's eyes widened, "You're _that_ Charlie; Uncle Stephen's son?!"

"Nice to see you again Vivey," Chuck smiled warmly at her, "How's Uncle Hartley doing?"

"Not so well, the Volkoff personality has pretty much taken him over." Vivian sighed, "Only reason he even accepts me as his daughter is that Frost made sure he was aware of who I was when it became clear the override failed."

"We may have a way to help," Chuck assured her, "We have a pair of glasses that can be programmed to essentially override the agent X programming your father received, but we need a way to get him to put them on."

Vivian sat thoughtfully, "I may have an idea, but we will need to bring in another operative. One he trusts more than me."

"Who would that be?" Sarah inquired.

"Frost," Cole and Vivian spoke at the same time.


	20. Chapter 20

"Frost is here?" Chuck looked at the couple in shock, "_Your dad_ was the operative she was sent after?"

"I suppose so," Vivian shrugged, "Why? Does the fact she's here make any difference?"

"I guess we'll find out," Chuck sighed, grateful for Sarah's free hand rubbing his forearm soothingly. "Can you arrange a way for us to meet, one that won't make Volkoff suspicious?"

"Our rehearsal dinner is tomorrow," Cole offered, "You could come as an old mate of mine from University. We can just tell people that we met when you came to Oxford on exchange. I doubt two more guests will make much of a difference."

"That could work," Chuck nodded, "What time and where is the rehearsal?"

"The rehearsal dinner starts at 7pm tomorrow night in the Restaurant downstairs," Cole informed them, "Just let them know you are with the wedding party and they will direct you to the private room."

"Dress code?" Sarah inquired.

"Cocktail attire," Vivian supplied, "Something along the lines of what you are wearing now should be fine, the wedding itself will be formal. You are, of course, invited. After all, how could I deny my childhood playmate an invitation? I'll make sure a formal invitation is delivered to you tomorrow."

"We appreciate that," Sarah nodded, "We'll just go ahead and RSVP in advance for three. Our partner John Casey is with us as well."

"I thought I saw him chatting up that DGSE fox earlier," Cole mused only to be elbowed by his fiancée. "Now Viv, she's nowhere near as attractive as you."

"Nice save," Vivian rolled her eyes as Chuck and Sarah fought to suppress their grins. "Is there anything else you are needing from us? We have a busy couple days ahead of us and I'd like to get a little sleep while I still can."

"Brilliant idea," Cole murmured to Vivian, "Since I don't plan on sleeping once the wedding is over."

"No, I think we can take care of the rest from here," Chuck shook his head ignoring Cole's statement. He then stood and gestured toward the door to walk their guests out. He kissed Vivian's cheek and shook Cole's hand. "Congratulations, by the way."

"Thanks, Mate," Cole nodded, "You just make sure to phone when you two finally decide the cover isn't good enough anymore. Sarah knows how to reach me."

"We will," Chuck nodded and began to open the door, "Oh, one more thing use the Carmichael cover until after you introduce us to Frost."

"Is there bad blood between you two and her?" Cole arched an eyebrow.

"You might say that," Chuck gave a half-shrug, "I'm just not entirely sure she'd come if she knew it was Sarah and me that she was meeting."

"Roger that," Cole clapped him on the shoulder before placing his hand on his fiancée's lower back and guiding her out. "Tomorrow then?"

"Yes, until tomorrow," Chuck nodded and closed the door behind them before returning to the sitting area where Sarah was waiting for him.

"What's our next step?" Sarah asked him, "Because last I checked, the Intersect glasses we have are just for updates, not overwriting a previously existing Intersect."

"That's a fairly simple fix," Chuck assured her, "The trick is to get the override program from Orion, especially since Volkoff's Intersect is a different program from mine."

"Well before you get too far gone into that," Sarah stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist under his jacket and rested her head in his shoulder, "Might as well get comfy. I know you, whether or not you are able to get a hold of Orion tonight, you are going to be up for hours working on reencoding those glasses."

"Probably a good idea," Chuck nodded with a sigh and leaned down to press a kiss to her head.

"You go change, I'll order some brain food," Sarah stepped back and gave him a light push toward the bedroom.

"Make sure to see if they have…" Chuck started.

"Rombauer, I know," Sarah gave him a soft smile, "Just who do you think you're talking to?"

"My mistake," He chuckled and ducked into the bedroom as Sarah lifted the room phone and dialed the extension for room service.

By the time Chuck returned, wearing comfortable grey sweats and his old Quantum Leap t-shirt that was fitting a little tighter - although not uncomfortably so - these days, their order had been delivered. Sarah had placed the various items on one side of the dining table. At a glance he saw at least two bottles of Rombauer, several bottles of flat and sparkling water, granola bars, snack cakes, and some cut and whole fruit. He picked up his laptop from the coffee table and brought it over to the table to set up for what he anticipated to be a long coding session as Sarah ducked into the room to change herself.

It didn't take long for Chuck to set up his personal encryption network and establish his server protocol which routed his IP address through multiple servers at random and at a rate that not even the CIA or NSA were ever able to track him, even now that he outed himself to them, not that they much cared anymore. Opening a communication channel, he began initializing the connection protocol to contact Orion. Once he'd found out that Orion was his father, it had been easier to locate the older engineer's network, something that the analysts and IT specialists of the CIA and NSA had failed to accomplish in the 14-some-odd years since the man disappeared.

The connection established, the only thing to do was wait, which wasn't long. Orion must have been close to his computer or heard the alert of an inbound communication. The bank screen of the video call changed to show the outline of a humanoid figure created by scrolling alphanumeric code in a purple-ish hue. "Who is this?" A digitized voice demanded.

"Someone who realizes the irony of you going off grid," Chuck responded, knowing that Orion was receiving a similarly digitized voice and pixilated image, "Only in your case you don't seem to have a CLU."

The digitized image on the screen looked confused, if that were even possible, before Orion spoke again, "Identify yourself."

"I go by many names," Chuck responded vaguely, "You may have heard of the Piranha." Orion did not respond, but Chuck was able to see a slight tick of recognition behind the scrolling code obfuscating his father's face, "But you probably know me better as your son, Chuck."

"Charles?" The digitized voice's confused amazement was clear over the transmission.

Chuck pressed a few buttons on his computer, disengaging the audio and visual encoding that had been obscuring his identity from his father. "Hi Dad."

Orion likewise disengaged his transmission protocols; Chuck could see that his father had aged significantly since he last saw him. His bright eyes had dimmed a bit, the crow's feet around his eyes were more pronounced, and he was clearly worn down. "Charles! My God, it's good to see that face."

"It's good to be seen," Chuck gave him a small smile.

"How did you find me?" Stephen questioned.

"I'm the Piranha," Chuck shrugged, "I probably could have found you years ago, I was tempted, believe me, I was tempted. When Ellie was accepted to UCLA, when I was accepted to Stanford, and especially after Ellie graduated medical school at the top of her class…" Chuck sighed, "I figured that there must have been a damned good reason for you to leave us like that and stay away, but I still wish you had told us something. Anything would have been better than promising pancakes and then never coming back."

"I'm sorry, Charles," Stephen dropped his head.

"Did you even stop to consider that you leaving would have put Ellie and me in danger?" Chuck frowned sadly, "I mean thank God we had the Admiral and Mrs. Calavicci, Agents Turner, and Agent Montgomery looking out for us, but what if we didn't? What if they were called away?"

Orion's head shot up, "Wait, what did you call them?"

"Navy Admiral Al Calavicci and his wife Beth, CIA Agents Craig and Laura Turner, and Agent Roan Montgomery – or as we called him back then Tony Lewis, also of the CIA," Chuck repeated.

"God damn it!" Stephen growled, "How did you find out?"

"Roan told me a few weeks ago," Chuck explained.

"But he's been…" Stephen started then looked at his eyes, "What the hell were you doing in DC?"

"Working," Chuck stated simply, "Did you really think Bryce accusing me of cheating on Fleming's imagery retention test would stick? I know you had something to do with it, although I don't think you expected to play out the way it did." He sighed, "But that's not important right now. I didn't call to rehash the past. We need your help."

"'We?'" Stephen repeated hesitantly.

"Yes, 'we,'" Sarah spoke up from behind Chuck, neither man had noticed her approach.

Chuck turned to see his girlfriend wearing a brown shirt, that was clearly his as it swamped her slender frame, with the words 'I aim to misbehave' printed over the outline of Serenity, and a pair of his boxers which were barely visible under the hem of the shirt. "My God, Jen," He sighed into her ear as she casual seated herself in his lap, "Do you have any idea what you are doing to me?"

"I have an idea," She gave him an impish smile.

"You are making it very hard…"

"I noticed," She teased, adjusting her position in his lap.

"…to focus right now," Chuck finished with a groan.

"You like it," She giggled, giving him a quick peck.

The sound of Stephen clearing is throat interrupted their little tête-à-tête, and the couple blushed. "Sorry Dad," Chuck shrugged sheepishly hoping his father hadn't heard too much.

"Are you going to introduce us?" Stephen prompted.

"Sorry, Dad," Chuck gave him a small smile, "Allow me to introduce my girlfriend, Jenny."

Stephen turned a stern gaze to the female spy, "Really, is that the name she gave you?"

"Yes, it is." Chuck stated firmly, "That _was_ her name, ten years ago when we first met in high school. She may be Sarah to the rest of the world, but she's my Jenny."

"Well technically speaking, it _is_ my cover right now," Sarah gave a small shrug.

"Charles," Stephen pleaded with his son, "You don't know who she really is, what she's done."

"That's where you're wrong," Chuck shook his head, "I am one of the very few people who truly know who she is beneath the persona of Sarah Walker CIA Agent. And as for the other thing, she has done her job. No more, no less, with few exceptions when doing the right thing made it necessary to deviate from her orders. And in that particular instance the order was unlawful and given by a rogue agent."

Stephen closed his eyes as if praying for strength. "Where are you?"

"Debrecen," Chuck stated, "We're here for Vivian's wedding."

"You're WHERE?!" Stephen shouted, "Charles, do you have any idea how dangerous that is?! Who her father is?"

"I am aware of what, or should I say who, Uncle Hartley has become," Chuck spoke calmly, "And when we first arrived, we had no idea that he was going to be here. We didn't even know it was Vivy's wedding, we were tracking Victor Federov in hopes of learning more about his connections and how we might shut down his weapons pipeline. Finding out whose wedding he was attending was a happy accident and since Vivy and I are childhood friends, and Jen knows her fiancé, they invited us. Which leads to why we need your help. We want to try to deactivate Volkoff's Intersect."

"Can't be done," Stephen shook his head, "Maybe we could deactivate yours, provided we had the right equipment, but his is a lost cause."

"Just because the deactivation code you programed in didn't take?" Chuck challenged, "Or the in-person backup that Mom attempted failed? And before you try to deny it, Vivian and Cole have already confirmed she's here."

"Charles, you have no idea what you are asking," Stephen shook his head.

"I have Intersect glasses with me," Chuck informed him, "All I have to do is reprogram them to override rather than update. You're not the only engineer in the family, and not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty damned good at this kind of thing. If you don't want to be too involved, fine, send me the packet you uploaded him with. Maybe I can figure out how to override it."

"I've spent years trying to figure it out, what makes you think you can figure it out in a matter of what, weeks? Days?" Stephen challenged.

"I can at least try," Chuck insisted, "I mean if it brings Uncle Hartley back and frees up Mom and potentially you to come home, that's worth it to me."

Stephen sighed, "Charles, I don't know."

"Please Dad," Chuck pressed, "I want nothing more than for my family to be together again."

"I must be insane for doing this," Stephen sighed, "Fine, I'll send you the program, just don't be too disappointed when it fails."

Chuck hit a few keys, opening a new window on his screen, and with arms bracketing Sarah, who was still seated comfortably on his lap, he typed in a few commands. "I've sent you a link to an anonymous server of my own design, it's secure and hack-proof. Thank you."

"I really hope this all works out for you," Stephen gave him a sad smile, "I want you to have a better life than I've had the past decade and a half."

"If I succeed, maybe you can have a little of that good life back," Chuck replied softly before the call was disconnected. He wrapped his arms securely around Sarah's waist and rested his head on her shoulder, pressing a kiss to her neck, "Now all there is to do is to wait."

"Not all," Sarah turned until she was seated sideways across his lap, "I can think of ways to pass the time."

"Why Mrs. Carmichael," Chuck teased, "What exactly are you suggesting."

"Well Mr. Carmichael," She cooed pressing a soft kiss to his lips, "I know you noticed when I came out of the bedroom, 'I aim to misbehave.'"

"Mmm," Chuck dropped his head and hummed into her neck, "Well then, let's misbehave." He sang the last two words to her before lifting her in his arms as he stood and carried his giggling girlfriend into their bedroom.


	21. Chapter 21

Orion pushed back from his work station with a groan. After all he had done to try to keep his children out of the CIA, Charles _still_ had wound up working for the company. Granted, when he'd convinced Larking to frame his son for cheating to void his test results on Fleming's image retention test, he hadn't expected it to result in Charles' expulsion, he just thought the kid would have to retake the test and be put on academic probation for the remainder of his semester. There was nothing he could have done about it without revalidating Charles' test results which would have brought him to the attention of the CIA sooner. Not that any of his plans had done any good.

It didn't help that Larkin seemed to have a change of conscience four months ago and sent Charles the damned Intersect anyhow. At least some good came out of it, as it resulted in Charles finally being issued the degree he'd worked so hard for, and had been denied. On the other hand, it also brought Agent Sarah Walker to his son's door, and it looked as if his son was going down the same path that he, himself, had gone down over three decades before; falling in love with a spy. He still loved his Mary, and missed her every day, but it was a hardship he'd never wanted for his son.

He stepped to a panel in the wall of his cabin, moved the family picture – the last one of all of them together – that hung there aside and pressed his hand to the biometric scanner that was inset into the wall. The pad turned green and the wall slid to the side revealing a set of stairs heading down to the hidden basement. He slowly descended the stairs, his knees not what they used to be, and went straight to the section of his storage he knew housed the disks holding the data packets from the Agent X Intersect. The clamshell-style disk storage case was right where he knew it would be. Tucking the box under his arm, and grabbing the auxiliary disk reader, he headed back up the stairs to his workstation.

Compiling the data packets and converting them for transmission took a few hours as he had to load the data packets individually from each disk, but the files were finally ready to upload to the server Charles had provided him with. The upload took another 45 minutes to fully transmit, and through the whole process he questioned the intelligence of doing so. He had tried and failed 20 years ago to disengage the Volkoff programming and bring Hartley back, multiple times. At this point he counted it as a loss, and while he hoped to, someday, see his wife again, his faith that it would actually happen dimmed every day, week, month, year that she was gone. He just prayed that if she met her demise in the 'employ' of Volkoff, it wouldn't be too gruesome.

He silently watched the upload bar as it processed the transmission, when it hit 100%, he sat back and sighed. "Good luck, Charles. You're gonna need it." With that, he shut down his system and ambled off to the kitchen to make his dinner.

* * *

It was around three in the morning when Chuck stumbled out of his room in search of food and drink for himself and Sarah to replenish the energy they'd just spent the past few hours expending when he heard a soft chime from his computer. Taking a seat, he woke his system to see what the alert was for, a smile graced his lips as he saw his father had done as he'd been asked and sent him the data packets he's requested. He pressed a few buttons to download the data packets to the auxiliary hard drive, he'd plugged in for that very reason, and set his computer to shut down after the download was completed. He grabbed a few pieces of fruit and some bottled water and headed back to bed to get a few more hours of sleep before it was time to meet with Casey for their debrief.

* * *

They had managed to wake up and finish showering in just enough time before Casey's scheduled arrival. Chuck was seated in the living room, wearing jeans and a brown Henley, sock-covered feet propped up on the coffee table. He was skimming over the coding the data packets his father has sent him on his laptop while he sipped his coffee and nibbled on a pastry when Casey knocked on the door connecting their suites. Chuck set his feet on the floor and his laptop on the coffee table and ambled over to the door.

"Good morning, Casey," Chuck greeted the older man warmly, "There's coffee brewed and pastries on the table."

"Where's Walker?" Casey looked around the room.

"I'm right here," Sarah responded, entering from the bedroom, securing her hair into a ponytail.

Casey gave her a once over from her still-damp hair, to the t-shirt she'd clearly stolen from Bartowski, to her jeans and sock covered feet and, then taking into account Chuck's wet curls, let out a frustrated groan, "It's enough to know you Bartowski is actively stuffing your pierogi, but do you have to flaunt it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sarah smiled sweetly at her partner as she sauntered up to her boyfriend, kissed his cheek, and stole his coffee cup, taking a swig of it before handing it back to him.

Casey grunted in disgusted, "Can we just get on with this?"

"Of course," Chuck smiled and gestured toward the living room. After grabbing some pastry and coffee, including a refill for Chuck, the trio took their seats to begin their briefing. Chuck and Sarah explained about meeting up with Cole and Vivian and the connection between Chuck and Vivian's fathers. Casey's eyes widened for only a moment when Chuck revealed that his mother had been undercover since Volkoff's Intersect and failed to disengage. "She doesn't know I'm here or that I work for the CIA, but we're fairly confident she will work with us when we tell her our plan."

"So, are we no longer going after Federov?" Casey took a sip of the coffee that he claimed he took black as his soul, "Do Beckman and Graham know?"

"Yes, we are going after Federov, in a way," Sarah nodded, "We are thinking that if Volkoff is taken off the board, it will cause whatever pipeline that Federov is using to get weapons for his buyers will dry up. And no, we haven't briefed them yet."

"Why the hell not?" Casey demanded.

"We don't know how my mom will react to seeing me again, let alone finding out I'm working with the CIA and NSA." Chuck gave his partner a half-smile, "It didn't go so well when my dad found out."

"What does you dad have to do with this?" Casey looked between his partners in confusion.

"Casey, my dad is Orion, in case you forgot." Chuck gave the older man a skeptical look before he continued, "Twenty years ago, he and Vivian's father along with Dr. Busgang – code name Perseus – and my mother were involved in developing an early prototype of what would eventually become the Intersect. They called it Agent X as their goal was to download a personality matrix into an operative to eliminate the risk of blowing an agent's cover. According to my father's notes, the CIA had pushed for a test of the programming and threatened to revoke funding if no test was done within a specific time frame. Apparently, no one in our government heeded Quantum Leap's warning about testing experiments before they're ready.

"Vivian's father, Hartley Winterbottom, a scientist and former operative for MI:6, volunteered to have the program uploaded into his head. They tried first with a small packet of information, which seemed to be well received and was able to be accessed until the coding told the program to essentially 'switch off.' Eventually they worked their way up to uploading a full personality matrix into Hartley and it seemed to work. He was able to successfully insert himself into the Bratva. After a few months, the program was supposed to shut off. When they didn't hear from Hartley, my mom was sent with a way of overriding the program, but that failed. They attempted a few more times, I remember her leaving for several business trips during this time, but each time it didn't work. Eventually it was decided that my mom would go under as his assistant to be his handler. Withing a few years Hartley had managed to build a reputation and a name as one of the most prolific arms dealers Russia had ever seen. My mom was always at his side and is now his most trusted right-hand man… or woman as it were."

"So, you're saying that your dad, under the direction of the CIA…" Casey started.

"Created Alexei Volkoff, yes," Chuck confirmed with a sad smile.

"And your mom is…"

"Frost," Chuck confirmed.

"Oh, Chuck me…" Casey groaned.

"Why is this so surprising to you?" Sarah challenged, "The rampant nepotism in the CIA is not exactly a state secret." Both men gave her a dry look, "Okay, so it _is_ a state secret, but not within the intelligence community."

"So, what's the plan?" Casey looked between his partners.

"We spoke with my father last night and he sent me the data packet from the Agent X Intersect." Chuck explained, "I am going to try to see if there's a way I can circumvent or override the programming enough to disable the Volkoff personality. With any luck, I'll also be able to reprogram the update glasses to administer the override."

"The thing is we need to get the glasses to him and somehow get him to turn them on voluntarily," Sarah added, "Since Frost is his number two, we're hoping to get the glasses to her to give to him, but first we have to gain her cooperation."

"We are taking advantage of our friendships with Cole and Vivian, the bride and groom, to get an introduction, or rather a reintroduction," Chuck added, "They invited us to their rehearsal dinner, where Frost is bound to be considering Volkoff is the father of the bride."

"Are you sure she's going to agree to work with us?" Casey gave them an uncertain look, "Being under as long as she has, her loyalties may have shifted."

"I think the risk is worth the reward," Chuck shrugged slightly, "The worst she can do is say, 'No.'"

"No, kid," Casey shook his head, "The worse she can do is put a bullet through your brainpan, and I don't know about Walker, but I really don't have time to deal with dead geek."

"Nerd," Chuck and Sarah corrected on reflex.

"And let her try," Sarah's face hardened.

"Your funeral," Casey shrugged, "If the Moron is working on deprogramming the most dangerous man on the planet, what is our next step?"

"I'm staying here, to make sure he doesn't overdo it on his thinking juice," Sarah explained, "Last thing we need is for him to show up to the rehearsal dinner three sheets to the wind."

"That'd be a more apt descriptor if used to describe a drunk Casey," Chuck snickered, "You know, since he's a marine."

Casey growled.

"Boys, focus," Sarah gave them both a stern look., "Chuck will get a start on trying to figure out how to override the Agent X programming, the goal being to have it ready to go by the time of the wedding tomorrow, or at the very latest by the time Volkoff and Frost head back to Moscow. Casey, meet with Ilsa and keep working the Federov angle, just in case removing Volkoff doesn't resolve the pipeline issue."

"Fine," Casey grunted, "Debrief again tomorrow, same time?"

"That should work," Chuck nodded, Sarah mimicking the motion.

Casey gave a grunt of understanding, then exited the room.

"So, what do you need in order to get started?" Sarah turned to her boyfriend.

"I already have," Chuck pulled up the window displaying the coding for the Agent X program, "But if you could uncork a bottle and maybe grab me another pastry, that would be helpful."

"Sure," Sarah nodded, did as he asked and brought the pastry and opened wine bottle handing the bottle to him and watching him take a swig, "Open," Chuck opened his mouth while she inserted a bite of pastry into his mouth. "Don't get used to this."

"I won't," Chuck assured her, opening another window to make notes, "But I love that you're willing to do it when I need it."

"Alright then," Sarah patted him on his shoulder before going into the bedroom and emerging with her own laptop to go over any recent briefings and releases she received. Every so often she would make sure Chuck ate a little more pastry.

As Chuck reviewed the files, he saw that his father had included his attempts at a program override and notes as to what he thought might have gone wrong. Finishing the last swig of wine, he was surprised when the bottle was removed from his hand and replaced with a cool green bottle with a blue label reading 'Theodora.' The surprise must have shown on his face, because Sarah gave him a soft smile, "Drink that and eat a sandwich, then you may have more thinking juice."

"Fine," Chuck huffed lightly to show he wasn't overly upset by her direction. Putting his laptop aside, he screwed off the metal lid and took a long swig of the cool drink, feeling the slight buzz he was getting from the wine to ebb a bit. Once a third of the bottle was gone, Sarah handed him a turkey and muenster sandwich, which he promptly ate while finishing off the last of his water.

Sarah accepted the empty bottle and used plate from him and walked back to the table to uncork another bottle. This cycle of making sure he was snacking while coding and drinking his thinking juice, then insisting on him drinking a bottle of water along with something more substantial repeated itself a few more times until it was a little after five PM. She handed him one last bottle of water, instructing him to drink, and waiting patiently until the empty bottle was handed to her.

"How are you feeling?" She sat down next to him, looking between her boyfriend and the computer which had dominated his attention all day.

"Not bad, all things considered," Chuck shrugged, "I feel relatively sobor, so that's good. And I think I made good progress on this. I'm almost ready to run a simulation, but that can wait until after the rehearsal dinner, that way I can program in a few variables and allow it to run overnight, see which comes closest to the desired result."

"You are such a nerd," Sarah smiled up at him, "But that's why I love you." She kissed him, "Now go get changed, we have friends to watch practice getting married."

"Why, wanna take notes?" Chuck gave her a teasing look.

"Maybe," She smiled, "Now get going."

"Yes dear," Chuck laughed, rising and heading toward the bedroom door.

"And make sure you brush your teeth and use some mouthwash," She advised, "Oh and shower, you smell like you spent all day inside an oak cask."

"Maybe you should come with me," Chuck suggested, "Make sure I smell nice and am all prettified."

"Maybe I should," She grinned, following him into the bedroom and on to the ensuite bathroom.

* * *

A little over an hour later, they were both showered and dressed, Chuck in a Navy suit and light blue dress shirt, and Sarah in a burgundy cocktail dress with a lace illusion off-the shoulder neckline, a bow at the waist and an A-line skirt which she had paired with black pumps. Their wedding invitation had arrived earlier that day by way of one of the bellmen. Included in the envelope was an invitation to not only the rehearsal dinner, but the rehearsal itself.

"You look beautiful, Jenny," Chuck spoke softly in the local dialect as he smiled down at her warmly as he helped her on with her coat before shrugging on his own.

"Thank you, Charlie," She kissed him on the cheek wiping the lipstick from his cheek as she replied in kind, "You look pretty handsome yourself."

"Shall we go?" He opened the door for her.

"Let's go," She nodded, picking up her handbag and stepping through the door to wait for Chuck to join her.

He offered her his arm, which she gladly took as they headed toward the elevator. They got appreciative looks from other guests at the hotel as they crossed the lobby and thanked the doorman as he opened the door to them, wishing them a pleasant evening. Sarah was grateful for Chuck's arm a moment later as she slipped on a frozen piece of sidewalk as they walked next door to the large church where the rehearsal that night and the wedding the next day was to be held. He'd felt her feet start to slip and promptly held firmer to her to keep her upright, pausing a brief moment until she was steady on her feet once more, before proceeding to their destination.

Entering the church, they slipped into a pew about midway down the aisle on the bride's side, since they'd decided to sit on the groom's side the next day, assuming his side would be the lighter of the two. This gave them the ability to be close enough to be considered included in the event but far enough away to not be easily noticed. Chuck, once more, assisted her with her coat before sliding his own off his broad shoulders, laying the coats over the back of the pew beside him. As they sat and watched the almost-newlyweds walk through an abbreviated version of the service, they held hands and dreamed of the day that it might be them up on that dais… or on a beach somewhere… each promising to devote their lives to loving the other and their future family.

* * *

When it looked like things might be wrapping up soon, Volkoff was in a rather serious discussion with the pastor, Frost by his side, Chuck and Sarah shrugged on their coats and made their way back to the hotel. By the time they'd journeyed upstairs to deposit their outerwear and return to the lobby, the wedding party had returned and was making its way into the restaurant. They slipped in, blending with the rest of the guests and took a seat at a table out of the way enough to not draw attention to themselves, but made sure subtly to catch the eyes of the bride and groom so they would know where to find them.

Once all the guests were seated and Volkoff welcomed them with a toast to the future for the bride and groom, laced with a not so subtle warning of what would befall Cole if he were to hurt Vivian, dinner was served. The guests were given the choice of prime rib drizzled with garlic butter or chicken Kiev, served with garlic roasted potatoes and steamed green beans on the side. They were then poured red or white wine, depending on which entre they had selected, to ensure optimal food and wine pairing. Wanting to get a little taste of each, Chuck ordered the prime rib with red wine, and Sarah ordered the chicken with white. Once dinner had been served, the room was filled with casual conversation and light music overhead.

Soon the plates were cleared away and the guests began to mingle, some socializing, others taking advantage of the small dance floor. Chuck and Sarah mostly stayed to their area, exchanging small talk, in Russian and Hungarian, with other guests, identifying themselves simply as friends of the couple. As they socialized, they kept an eye out for Vivian and Cole, who were making their way around the room, often accompanied by Volkoff, greeting all their guests. Eventually, Volkoff excused himself from the couple and made his way over to a group of men standing in the far corner of the room. A few moments later the group were exiting for some clandestine meeting or another.

Sarah saw the moment that Vivian's eyes lit up, pretending to finally spot her friends in the busy room. Linking her arm with Cole's and nearly dragging the older woman who had been Volkoff's escort most of the night along with her. Sarah nudged Chuck, who nodded that he was aware of the trio's approach. As the nearly-weds grew closer, Sarah and Chuck heard Vivian insisting that Frost meet her friends.

"Frost, darling, you simply must meet our friends who came all this way for the wedding." She had insisted, earning her a slight eye roll and hesitant compliance from the older woman. Stepping up to the other couple, Vivian smiled at her father's second in command, "Frost, I'd like you to meet Cole's friend from University, Charlie Carmichael and his wife Jenny."

"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Frost," Sarah greeted the woman kindly, hand extended, which the older woman cordially shook.

Chuck, who had been turned in profile to Frost up until this point, turned to greet her, a wry smile on his lips, "Hi, Mom. Did you miss me?"


	22. Chapter 22

Only the people closest to her noticed the slight tick of Frost's right eye, "I'm sorry you must be mistaken, I'm sorry young man, I am not your mother."

"I suppose since you abandoned your children 20 years ago, you can't rightfully call yourself our mother, at least from a caretaker aspect, at least for me that honor fell to Ellie," Chuck's face gave no indication of the emotions boiling beneath the surface, although, Sarah's hand, which was clasped in his, was feeling the effects of his attempted restraint, "However, biologically, you are in fact my mother."

"I think you are mistaken," Frost tried to evade the claim.

"Oh please, Ellie is the spitting image of you, just as I have a clear resemblance to Dad," Chuck rolled his eyes, "I spoke to him last night, by the way, and he confirmed your identity and mission here."

"Cole, Dear, you may want to help your friend find some professional help," Frost turned to Cole with a fake sympathetic look, "He clearly has some deep-seated issues."

"You aren't wrong," Chuck gave a small shrug, "And why wouldn't I when both my parents left me by the time I was finished with junior high school? Thank God the health and emotional services available to UCLA students can be extended to their family. There are a lot of really good counselors coming out of their Psychology programs. Thanks to them, both Ellie and I got the talk therapy we needed to overcome our abandonment issues."

A look of guilt flashed over Frost's face in the course of a nano-second, she recovered quickly, but not quick enough that the four young adults surrounding her didn't notice. She looked as if she were about to offer another protest when Vivian spoke up.

"Aunt Mary, Dad, well his Volkoff personality, at least, is off plotting world domination with his cronies," She pointed out, "But we're not alone here. Perhaps we should take this elsewhere so as to not be overheard by anyone else."

The use of the familial term, one that Vivian hadn't uttered to her in nearly two decades, along with the fact her son who she hadn't seen in just as long, and the fact her own husband had confirmed her location, all caused her to relent. With a slight nod of her head, she followed the young adults out of the ballroom.

Nary a word was said all the way to the room Sarah and Chuck were sharing, all five of them aware that Volkoff's men could have bugged any where in the building. The approached the double door to the suite and Chuck removed his key from his back pocket, sliding it into the lock and waiting for the telling beep and click indicating the lock disengaging. Chuck motioned to the sitting area with one hand while Sarah slipped into the bedroom, returning a moment later with bug sweepers. After Chuck and Sarah had completed their sweep, ensuring their suite was secure, Chuck set to offering and pouring drinks for their guests.

"Mom?" He looked toward her, "Wine or Scotch?"

"Wine, I suppose," She gave a small shrug.

"Allow me to help," Cole offered, heading over to the bar where Chuck was pulling out the wine and high-ball glasses and grabbed the wine glasses, uncorking a bottle of Riesling and filling the glasses for the ladies, as Chuck poured their double scotches, neat. Cole handed the glasses to the women and accepted his Scotch before joining his bride-to be on the love seat. Frost had claimed the armchair, leaving the couch for Chuck and Sarah.

"Chuck," Mary sighed, there was no point denying her son's identity now, "What are you doing here?"

"We actually came to investigate and potentially turn an arms dealer by the name of Victor Federov," Chuck explained before turning a smile to his friends, "We heard he was a guest at a wedding, but were pleasantly surprised to find it was Vivey and Cole who were the happy couple when we ran into them at the cocktail hour our first night here."

"I thought you were an electrical and computer engineer," Mary looked at her son confused, "At least that's what my sources tell me. Why would you be looking into… Oh God, Charles, tell me you didn't…"

"I really didn't have much of a choice at first, Mom," Chuck shrugged, "How much about me do you know, what did Dad tell you?"

"Honor student throughout school, full-ride scholarship to Stanford," Mary shook her head, trying to remember all she had been told, "Expelled for cheating in your last semester, a gross overreaction, but your father shouldn't have gotten your roommate to frame you in the first place. Trust me, he got an earful from me on that one."

"As he should have," Sarah agreed.

"He mentioned something recently about you finally getting your degree and being absolved of all charges," Mary continued, "Something about proof that you were framed being brought to the attention of the University."

"That was Jen's doing," Chuck gave his girlfriend a warm smile, "She found out what had happened and set the wheels in motion to allow me to finish my degree, Stanford instead opted to just issue the diploma since I'd already met and exceeded the proficiency needed to complete my double majors. I also have a standing offer of a full scholarship at the University of my choosing if I wish to pursue graduate school, we're still thinking that part over."

"That doesn't explain why you are here," Mary pointed out.

A moment of silent communication passed between the CIA couple, before they turned to their guests. "Since Mom was technically read in to the program a long time ago, and Vivey already is aware of our families' connections and how Volkoff came to be, Cole we are trusting what we are about to say will not leave this group, as it is classified at the highest level." Chuck spoke directly to his new friend.

"Understood," Cole nodded.

Chuck and Sarah began to explain everything starting from Bryce going rogue to Chuck getting his degree back, and on up to their current mission and the side mission they decided to embark on to try to save Hartley and liberate Frost – and by extension Cole and Vivian.

"Let me get this straight, Mate," Cole gave Chuck a puzzled look, "You have some kind of Intelligence Database in your head? Not only that, but Volkoff has the same thing in him and it's corrupting him?"

"Well, corrupted him is more like." Chuck shrugged, "We have two different versions, but the base programming is essentially the same, which is why we enlisted the help of my father, since he was the original designer and creator of the program. It was his idea, his baby, his greatest creation."

"Aside from your sister and yourself, that's what he always said." Mary pointed out, a soft smile on her lips at the memory, "But we've been down this road before, trying to deactivate the Agent X programming, it didn't work."

"I'm aware of that," Chuck nodded, "Dad sent me the original program's infrastructure as well as the infrastructure of the override attempts along with his notes. Honestly, it was more than I'd asked for, but supremely helpful, nonetheless. I got a jump on my attempt earlier today; between Dad's notes, the CIA and NSA archives, the Omaha Project, and a little of my own bit of tipety-tipety..."

"'Typety-typety?'" Mary raised an eyebrow at her son.

"You ever heard of Piranha?" Sarah asked, then nodded at her boyfriend as the other three intelligence agents looked at him in disbelief.

"I don't know if I should be pissed off at your or impressed," Mary mused, "I know how long that hacker tag has been in use, Charles Irving. Please tell me you never."

"Not to worry, Mom," Chuck assured her, "I only used my powers for good, not matter how many times Morgan begged me to change his grades. All I ever did was hack in to prove I could, fix the hole I was able to exploit, leave a message, and get out."

"You could have been conscripted to the NSA against your will!" Mary reprimanded.

"Well, it wouldn't be conscription if I went willingly," Chuck pointed out blithely, earning him a chastising look from his mother, "And in the end it didn't much matter, I outed myself to the CIA and NSA when I willing joined Sarah and Casey's team."

Almost as if summoned, Major Casey stormed into the room, "What gives Bartowski, decided to have a little pow-wow without me?"

"Just figured I'd keep it in the family for a little bit before bringing you in," Chuck explained, "Would you like me to direct you to a nearby china shop? I mean, that was a pretty remarkable impression of a raging bull you did storming in."

"Can it, Numbnuts," Casey growled, then spotted Mary sitting on the chair, "Who's she?"

"Major John Casey, this is my mother, Mary Bartowski, or as she is known around these parts, Frost." Chuck gestured to his mother, who rose and shook Casey's hand.

"Ma'am," Casey grunted.

"Major Casey," Mary nodded to the man, "Is there anyone else here from this ragtag group of interagency personnel? Morgan, perhaps, or – God forbid – Ellie?"

"Only Ilsa," Chuck offered, "But we're letting Casey handle her."

"I just bet you are, Mate," Cole snickered, "What was it she called you? Ah yes, that's right; "Sugar Bear.'"

Casey gave his number 5 grunt, irritation with a side of reluctant acknowledgement.

"If we can get back on task, children," Mary's parental undertone quieted the younger agents, "Major, if you'd care to take a seat Chuck was just explaining his plan."

"Same one we briefed you on this morning." Chuck filled in.

"Did you make any headway?" Casey turned to Chuck.

"Some," Chuck shrugged one shoulder. "I was able to establish a foundation to build upon. I have a little more coding to do tonight and hope to start running simulations." He turned to his mother, "My, admittedly overly optimistic, goal is to have the program up and running and the glasses reformatted in time to give them to you no later than the reception. And since Volkoff is insisting on following tradition and having the reception the day after the wedding, it gives me an extra day to work on it."

"Just don't forget that we are still having a wedding dinner for family and close friends immediately after the ceremony," Vivian reminded them, "Since we're not touring the city. "

"We wouldn't miss it for the world, Viv," Sarah assured her

"Let's stay on track," Mary reminded them. "What is my part in all of this?"

"You need to get him to put the glasses on, preferably willingly," Sarah supplied, "We figured he would be more likely to trust them coming from you."

"It's sound reasoning," Vivian added, "He usually dons what you say, unquestioningly. You give him a scarf to wear and he immediately uses it; same with a coat or hat. Even when you advise he wear a tie, which we all know he hates to do, he almost instantaneously ties one around his neck."

"Are you absolutely positive the glasses will work?" Mary looked to her son.

"Well considering I only just got Dad's notes and coding files early this morning, no." Chuck admitted, "And it's not like I can test them out on myself short of uploading the Agent X program, which I have absolutely no intention of doing. Honestly if I'm successful in eliminating the Volkoff persona, I am locating Dad and destroying all copies of it. I know he spent years creating it, but it is way too dangerous."

"Agreed," Mary nodded, "If you are able to pull this off, I will help you find him. I may have a few ideas as to where he may have disappeared to."

"I'd appreciate the help," Chuck nodded, "Well, that's all we needed to address with you all. Mom is there any way I can contact you?"

"It would probably be best to avoid direct contact as much as possible." Mary advised, "I don't think he remembers I have children, it was hard enough to convince him that Vivian was, in fact, his daughter, but I don't want to run the risk of triggering anything that would put you or your sister in danger."

"You have a point," Chuck nodded.

"We've already established your cover as a University mate of mine," Cole pointed out, "You getting a hold of me shouldn't raise any flags if you need to make contact with Frost. I'll give you my burner number, the one that is unknown and untapped by Volkoff. Codeword sensitive, in case someone sees outside of this circle."

"What do you propose?" Chuck questioned.

"If you need something passed to Frost text me that you have a bottle of Statesman you promised," Cole suggested after thinking it over a moment, "I'll ask you Whiskey or Rye. Whiskey will be information that need to be passed, Rye will be to notify Frost that the glasses are ready. We can set up a rendezvous from there."

"How appropriate on so many levels," Chuck smiled at the suggestion, "Are you sure no one will understand that?"

"I doubt anyone outside this room would get the reference," Cole shrugged, "The series isn't very well known outside of British Territories and the Colonies. Even then, it's not terribly well known."

"Great," Chuck grinned, "Oh and if you to pass something off to me, shoot me a text saying that you have the information for your tailor on Saville Rd. I'll ask you Oxfords or Brogues, Oxfords for information, Brogues for items." Chuck and Cole continued to discuss communication methods, occasionally straying off to the source from which their code words were pulled.

"How did we wind up with such nerds?" Sarah turned to Vivian with an eye roll.

"Just lucky, I suppose," Vivian shrugged with a small giggle.

Casey shot Mary a look that clearly meant, 'Do you know what they are talking about?' To which she simply shrugged and shook her head.

"If you all don't mind, some of us are getting married tomorrow and need our sleep." Vivian interjected, "Cole, Darling, we should go."

"Of course, Love," Cole nodded before shaking hands with Chuck pressing a kiss to Sarah's cheek, and following his fiancée out the door.

"I should be on my way as well," Mary added, rising from her seat, "Before Alexei starts to question where I've wandered off to. It was good to see you again, Chuck."

"You too, Mom," Chuck pulled her in for a brief hug.

Mary took a few steps toward the door before turning back, "I do have one question, though, are you two…"

"No," Chuck shook his head, catching onto his mother's meaning, "At least not yet. Maybe someday, but it's just a cover for now."

"And Ellie?"

"Not yet," Chuck confirmed, "Although that will probably be changing soon, so we should try out best to resolve this as quickly as possible."

"Understood," Mary nodded and extended her hand to Sarah, "It was nice to meet you, take care of my son."

"I will," Sarah confirmed, shaking the older woman's hand.

"Casey," Mary nodded to the NSA agent.

"Frost," Casey grunted and opened the door for her to exit. Once the door was closed, he turned on his heel, "Walker, Bartowski," not acknowledging them wising him a good night as he exited through the connected door to his room.

Sarah slipped her arms around Chuck and laid her head on his shoulder, "So that was your mom?"

"Yeah, that was Mom." Chuck confirmed, pressing a kiss to his girlfriend's head, "I'm sorry you couldn't have met under better circumstances."

"It couldn't be helped," Sarah sighed, "With any luck, the mission will go well, and she'll be free to return home with us."

"That would be nice," Chuck smiled softly, "I'm sure Ellie would love to have her around again."

"Do you think Ellie will be able to forgive her?" Sarah checked.

"I hope so, it may wind up depending on if we are able to read her in on the project," Chuck shrugged, "Technically the Agent X project was the precursor for Omaha and the Intersect. So, if we are able to bring her in, we can tell her about all that Dad, Mom, and Uncle Hartley were up to all those years ago. Maybe knowing all that will help her come to terms with why they had to leave and will help her forgive them."

"Will you be able to forgive her?" Sarah looked up to meet his eyes.

"Knowing the reason that she left helps," Chuck admitted, pulling her closer, "It will be a long road, I think, but eventually, yeah, I think I can. I mean, I would like to be able to put it all behind us."

They stood there, silent in each other's arms while longer before Chuck broke the silence. "Can we promise ourselves something right here right now? That we're in this, together, no matter how bad a mission or assignment goes, or where this life takes us, in or out of our current jobs. I don't know what I'd do if you went out on your own for a mission and disappeared."

"I don't know what I'd do ether," Sarah stepped back and took his hands in hers. "Do you, Charlie Bartowski, promise to be all-in with me, no matter what the future brings in both our real life and the spy life?"

"I do," Chuck smiled down at her, his eyes reflecting the seriousness of his pledge, "Do you Jenny Burton, promise to be all-in with me, no matter what the future brings in both our real life and the spy life?"

"I do," Sarah's soft smile matched his, love and devotion shining in her eyes at the vow.

Chuck lifted her hands to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the back of each hand, squeezing her left hand in his right. "One day, you will truly wear my rings, not these gaudy imitations," He whispered low in his throat.

"I'll look forward to the honor of wearing them," She replied softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist, puling her in for a kiss the held the promise of all the love he had and would give her for the rest of their lives.

"If we have any hope of getting to that point, I really should get to work," Chuck sighed, reluctant to let his girlfriend go.

"I guess you're right," Sarah nodded, "But we should probably change into something a little more comfortable. I have a feeling this is going to be a long night."

"You're probably right," Chuck agreed, releasing his hold on her so they could prepare for the long night and day of work that was ahead of them.


	23. Chapter 23

As they had the night before, they set to working on fixing the Volkoff problem; only this time Sarah's choice of sleep attire wasn't as distracting. While she still wore his Firefly t-shirt, she had chosen to don a pair of yoga pants and fuzzy socks to lounge around in. Chuck had changed into his most comfortable pair of sweatpants and a worn t-shirt before going about setting up his computer to continue on with his project. He noticed Sarah, who was curled up on the couch with a book, specifically his dad's old copy of '_Weapon of Choice_,' which was now his old copy of '_Weapon of Choice_.' He remembered the first time he caught her reading it; he'd jokingly asked if she was searching for tips from James Bond on how to be a spy, which earned him an eyeroll. For some reason it had struck him funny that a real-life spy was reading a novel written by a real-life spy about a fictional spy. He chuckled to himself as he uncorked the bottle of Rombauer he'd opened just that morning, he saw he saw her raise an eyebrow in acknowledgment before returning to her book as he waited for his computer to boot up.

Sarah continued to read, the faint clicking of her boyfriend's fingers over his keyboard as he worked along with the swish of liquid as he took a sip of wine and the crinkling of packages as he opened and munched on some snack serving as background to their night. About an hour and half into Chuck's coding session, she saw him tip the bottle back and finish off the wine it contained. She marked her place in the book with a strip of pictures they'd taken a few months back, when he'd taken her to the pier for a day of fun and walked over to the sideboard where she'd made sure to have a full case of water stocked. Twisting the cap off the bottle she walked over to her boyfriend laying a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention and hand him the bottle with a simple, "Drink."

Chuck did as he was told while Sarah cleared away the empty packaging and the empty wine bottle, tossing them in the waste basket by the wet bar. She uncorked another bottle of Rombauer, knowing that if he worked much longer, he would be wanting more of his 'thinking juice.' She then cut up some of the fruit that had been in the basket they'd received upon their arrival, plating it up on a plate that had been provided with their pastries. When she'd seen he'd finished the water she'd given to him, she carried the plate and the newly opened bottle of wine over to him, setting them within easy reach where he could see them. Kissing him on the cheek, she cleared away Chuck's empty water bottle, and grabbed one for herself, before returning to her seat on the couch and picking up the book she'd been reading.

As it had that morning, the cycle of Chuck diligently working to find a way to override the Volkoff Intersect while Sarah kept an eye on him, making sure he was eating and not overdoing it on his thinking juice, continued well into the early morning. Sarah was about ready to pass out from exhaustion, as she had refused to indulge in any coffee so that she would be able to go straight to bed once Chuck was done working for the night, when Chuck pushed back from his computer with a satisfied sigh.

"I think that just might do it," He smiled over at her, "Thank you for staying up with me while I worked on this, I know it's super late."

"'s okay, Sweetheart," Sarah yawned, "I didn't mind."

"You can head off to bed," Chuck nodded toward the bedroom, "I'm just going to activate my simulations before joining you."

"Are you sure?" Sarah gave him a hopeful look.

"I'm sure," Chuck nodded, "Go get some sleep, you look like you're about ready to drop, I'll be right behind you."

"Okay," Sarah blinked drearily before slowly rising to her feet and shuffling toward the bedroom door. She barely had time to pull the blankets up over herself as, the moment her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep almost immediately.

Chuck made quick work of setting up the parameters of the simulations, including the variations of the override program he'd created, looking it all over again to make sure everything was set to run as he wanted it to, he hit the 'enter' key to start the concurrent simulations before making his way through the suite, turning off lights as he went.

He ducked into the bathroom to brush his teeth and swish around some mouthwash to rid his breath of the aftereffects of his thinking juice and snacks before proceeding to bed. He let out a soft chuckle upon seeing his girlfriend, half covered by her side of the blankets, snoring lightly in her deep slumber. He gently and quietly slid under the covers, careful to not disturb Sarah as he climbed into bed and drew her into his arms, making sure the blanket fully covered them both. Pressing a soft kiss to his girlfriend's head and placing his feet over her now bare ones to keep them warm, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep, hopeful for what the next day might bring.

* * *

Sarah awoke, spooned in her boyfriend's warm embrace, his soft breaths tickling the hairs at the base of her head and his arms firmly wrapped around her, holding her secure to him like a child with a favorite stuffy. A soft smile graced her lips at the thought, she didn't mind being his favorite cuddle buddy, in fact, she rather loved it, reveled in the affection he freely showed toward her. Moving slowly so as to not awaken him, she gently arched her back and wiggled her hips to release the slight tension that resulted from laying in the same position for a while.

Sadly, her attempt to not wake the dozing man behind her was unsuccessful, evidenced by the soft chuckle she felt rumble from deep within his chest as she heard his deep, sleep-warmed voice against her ear, "You tryin' to start something, Mrs. Carmichael?"

God, she loved it when their cover allowed him to call her missus anything, so long as it was Chuck who was the mister side of the equation. It seemed so right for him to refer to her that way and vice versa, as if they were always supposed to be thus. "No, just stretching," She hummed, rolling over in his arms to face him, "But if you are game…" She leaned up to press soft kisses against the stubble along his throat and jaw, weaving her hands through his curls, as their mouths met in a soft, promising kiss. "Mmm, good morning, Mr. Carmichael."

They luxuriated in bed a time longer, hands and lips exploring, sleep wear shedding piece by piece, as they slowly made love in the small slivers of the midmorning sun that peeked its way through their drawn curtains. They drifted off to sleep, spent and sated, sleeping for an hour or so more before they reluctantly withdrew from the comfort of their bed, and each other's arms, to shower and dress for the day.

Chuck emerged from the bedroom first, clad in jeans and a comfortable sweatshirt he'd purchased when they'd traveled to Stanford the weekend he'd received his degree, allowing Sarah to have the bathroom to dry her hair and do whatever magic she did to take her from breathtakingly beautiful to stunning every day. Waking his computer, he began to run the analytics on his simulation to see if any were successful enough to justify moving forward in his pursuit of removing the Intersect from Volkoff's head.

Sarah had just finished pulling her hair up in a messy bun when she heard Chuck swear in the living area. Exiting the bedroom, fingers ready to reach to the hilt of one of the throwing knives she'd tucked into the waistband of her jeans, if needed, she went to see what was causing such a reaction from her normally even-tempered boyfriend.

"Damn it!" Chuck huffed, looking over the data.

"What's wrong?" Sarah inquired softly, stepping behind the chair Chuck was seated in and placing her hands on his shoulder, squeezing them in support.

"None of the simulations were successful," Chuck groaned, scrolling through line after line of data that streamed across the screen, "I mean these two were close, but nowhere near what I need."

"Alright, so can you combine what worked and discard what didn't; build from there?" Sarah suggested.

"Yeah, but this delay means I probably won't be able to finish the override program and the reformatting of the glasses to be able to remove Uncle Hartley's faulty programming during this trip." Chuck sighed, "Not to mention, there's some neurological data that I can't understand. It's not my specialty, and it's not Dad's, either. Hartley was the neurologist on the project, and he's no good to me right now. I think I'm going to need Ellie in on this, but I don't know if she's been approved for the clearance needed, nor do I know how she's going to react to… everything."

"What do you want to do?" Sarah asked, stepping around him and taking a seat on his lap, deliberately distancing Chuck from the data on the screen which was still upsetting him. When Chuck tried to look around her, she reached out, placing her hand on his jaw angling his head until his eyes met hers, "Charlie, what do you want to do from here? Do you want to try to see what progress you can make on your end, maybe work on reformatting the glasses? Do you want to reach out to Beckman and Graham to see if any progress has been made on your sister's security clearance? Do you want me to drag you to bed and make mad passionate sex to you until you are unable to spell the time or count your name?"

The last one drew a soft chuckle from him as his posture relaxed and Chuck wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder for a moment before meeting her gaze once more, "I needed that, and as tempting as your offer is, I think I need to see if I can make any progress on my end. First though, I think I need to reach out to Cole and let him know that I'll have a message for him to pass to Frost."

"I'll leave you to it," Sarah pressed a kiss to his cheek and stood from his lap, "Just so that we know what all we have to work with, I'm going to reach out to the powers that be and see the status of Ellie's vetting process."

"Thanks, Baby," Chuck gave her a soft smile, "You're amazing, you know that? You're the only person I know that can calm me when my mind in a full tailspin spiral."

"Glad I can help," Sarah returned the smile, "If you are going to start on the Rombauer again, eat something first, okay?"

"Okay," Chuck nodded, reaching for a banana and a pastry. "What time do we need to head out for the wedding?"

"The ceremony is set to start at 6:30 PM, so we should probably be dressed and ready to go by half past five to make our way over to the church." Sarah mused, "Just to be safe, if you're still working by then, I'll cut your thinking juice off by three to give you time to sobor up before the ceremony. Last thing you need to do is go to a wedding tipsy when we know full well the vodka will be flowing like water at the wedding supper."

"Good idea," Chuck agreed, popping a bite of pastry in his mouth, chewing slowly, "Well I'd better get to it."

"And I'm going to see what I can do on my end," Sarah nodded, retreating to the bedroom where her travel burner lay charging on the bedside table. There were only a few numbers saved in the directory, barely enough to fill her speed dial, pressing and holding the #5 key, she waited for the call to connect, "Good morning, I need to know if any progress has been made on securing a clearance level for Dr. Eleanor Bartowski..."

* * *

To allow Chuck the uninterrupted time he needed, Sarah let Casey know the initial simulations had failed and that Chuck would be working the rest of the afternoon on improvements to the programming. Casey, naturally, grunted his understanding and said that he would work on seeing what he could do about furthering their original mission, just in case removing Volkoff's intersect proved unsuccessful.

While Chuck continued to work, Sarah excused herself to the in-house spa at Vivian's request. The women wanted to get to know each other better, and this offered the perfect opportunity to do so. After enjoying some time, sipping mimosas while getting their nails done, luxuriating in the hot tub and sauna, and getting a massage, Sarah returned to the room in just enough time to cut Chuck's thinking juice off, exchanging it for water and snacks until 4:30, when she informed him it was time to start getting ready to go. The shower that was intended to be a quick rinse off turned into an encore of their earlier play time but didn't delay their preparations too much.

Wrapped in the fluffy towels provided by the hotel, they emerged from the bathroom. Sarah quickly grabbed the garment bag that held her dress for the evening before stopping and carefully selecting her undergarments before disappearing into the bathroom once more to finish her preparations for the evening. While Sarah busied herself slathering her body with the scented lotion that she knew Chuck loved so much, did her hair and makeup, Chuck was in the bedroom, changing into the custom-tailored tuxedo that had been purchased in preparation of the mission.

Buttoning his shirt and sliding the straps of his suspenders up over his shoulders, Chuck straightened his shirt as he walked toward the vanity mirror. He was using his fingers to lightly arrange his curls so they wouldn't go too crazy as they continued to dry when he heard the door to the bathroom open. Turning, he saw Sarah, her long blonde hair swept back in an elegant French twist, diamond drop earrings sparkling in the low light of the room, a matching pendant around her neck accenting the tasteful v-neckline of her dress.

She wore a floor length chiffon dress with a beaded bodice and capped sleeves in a shade of plum that both flattered her natural coloring and highlighted the blue of her eyes. Chuck stared at her, transfixed by her beauty before an awed smile graced his lips, "Wow," He whispered, "Sarah, you look absolutely lovely."

"Thanks," A rare blush bloomed on her cheeks as she reached up to fasten the top button of his shirt and made quick work of his bow tie, "You look very dapper yourself."

"Thank you, but I can't seem to find my cuff links." He shrugged, casting his eyes around as if to look for the errant accessories.

"Sorry, that's my fault," Sarah walked over to where he suitcase lay on a folding luggage rack, opening the top flap and extracting a small red velvet case from one of the zippered compartments. Returning to him, she handed the box to him.

Chuck smiled his appreciation and opened the box. The hinge of the clamshell box protested with a soft creak as the lid was lifted. Chuck's eyes shot up to Sarah, surprise, shock, and amazement battling for primacy, "How… Where…" He stammered.

"Ellie gave them to me to give to you," Sarah explained, "They were originally supposed to have been passed on to you when you graduated Stanford, but after Bryce got you kicked out, she'd put the box back in her jewelry case and forgot about them. She pulled them back out again after your expulsion was overturned and your degrees awarded. She said that she had originally planned to give them to you for Christmas, but when I mentioned part of our plans included a formal event, she insisted I give them to you early."

"They were my dad's," Chuck's voice was reverent as he looked at the white gold cufflinks. They had a round face with a halo of diamonds around a cushion cut garnet. "My grandparents gave them to him the day he graduated MIT. He wore them the day he married my mom." He could barely contain his emotions, his voice cracking as he spoke, a glimmer of tears in his eyes, "I remember he would wear them with his suit on their anniversary."

Sarah reached up, wiping the tears from his eyes before cupping his jaw in the palm of her hand, her thumb gently stroking his cheek. She smiled softly when he leaned his head into her touch and gave him a moment to get himself under control. "She said they were special to you."

"They were, they are," He lifted his head slightly to meet her eyes as he handed the box to her, "Could you help me put them on?"

Sarah gave him a warm smile and accepted the box, "Of course."

Chuck watched her set the open box down on the vanity, her delicate fingers making quick work of inserting the posts through the notches of his sleeves and securing them in place. His mind drifted back to being a kid – before his parents left – watching his parents get ready for a formal event, his mom's own sure hands making quick work of the cufflinks as she fastened them to his father's shirt. He remembered the warmth and love in the looks they would give each other, the intimacy the simple action lent to that moment in time. It was the same intimacy he felt between himself and Sarah as she fastened the second cufflink to his shirt before her hands drifted up to his collar where his bowtie still hung loose around his neck and quickly knotted the fabric.

He felt her give the tie a gentle tug to secure the knot before running her hands down to smooth his shirt, when they reached the center of his chest he reached up, wrapping his hands around her wrists, "Thank you," His voice warm and husky as memories from the past, and the emotions of the moment crashed and ebbed around them.

"You're welcome," She smiled back up at him as she lifted up on her toes, meeting him halfway for a warm kiss. Before they could let it go too far, she took a step back and nodded toward his jacket that lay over the foot of the bed behind them, "You should probably get your jacket on before we're late."

"Right," Chuck nodded, stepping over to the bed and slipping the jacket on, buttoning the top button before turning around to find Sarah, who made no attempt to hide the fact she was checking him out in his slim-fit tuxedo. "Like what you see, Mrs. Carmichael?" He gave her a coy smile.

"Very much so, Mr. Carmichael," Her eyes roamed his tall frame down then up again, a lascivious grin on her lips, "My husband is a very sexy man."

"Really?" Chuck quirked a flirtatious eyebrow, "I'd like to meet him someday."

"Just look in the mirror," She smiled at him, "Come on, nerd, we have a wedding to get to."

"As you wish," Chuck followed her into the living room where they donned their coats and exited the room to make their way to the church.

* * *

The wedding was lovely, the church had been decorated with poinsettias, holly, and evergreens and the bride and her maid of honor carried bouquets of red and white poinsettias. The maid of honor wore a red satin floor length gown with a sweetheart neckline and elbow length sleeves. Cole and his best man looked sharp in their tuxedos, and everyone could see the love and adoration he felt for his bride the moment he saw her. No amount of training he'd received could mask the emotion that played along his features, nor could it artificially create his reaction.

Vivian was resplendent in her satin gown with a cathedral train and sweetheart cut overlaid in lace with an off the shoulder illusion neckline and sleeves that ended half-way down her forearms. Her veil and blusher couldn't hide the love and joy radiating off of her as she made her way down the aisle on her father's arm toward her groom.

The vows were simple and poignant, the verses read appropriate to the ceremony, and the pastor eloquent in speech. The ceremony was soon over, and the newlyweds announced to the congregation before heading back up the aisle followed by their wedding party to greet their guests in the foyer of the church. The guests gave the appropriate wishes for a long and healthy life for the couple along with blessings for their future children as they departed the church to journey back to their hotels or, for the select few who were invited, to the restaurant which was hosting the wedding supper.

The wedding supper was held in the same private room that the rehearsal dinner had been held. As they had the night before, the newly weds made the rounds greeting and thanking their guests for coming before taking their seats at the head table with their wedding party. Dinner was an elegant affair with expensive wine and sumptuous food, clearly the influence of the bride's father who, once dinner had finished and before dessert was served, stood to toast the newlyweds.

Since the cake was to be served the following day at the reception, and despite the cold winter temperature outside, ice cream topped with sprinkles was served for dessert. The rest of the evening was spent, as the night before, with the guests mingling as the happy couple made their rounds. It didn't take long for Cole and Vivian to reach Chuck and Sarah and soon the quartet of spies were deep in conversation, the topics ebbing from the mundane to their hopes as couples and individuals for the future to their current missions, the latter of course utilizing code phrases in case anyone else overheard the conversation.

The covert nature of some of their topics of discussion came in handy when Volkoff spotted his daughter and her new husband and made his way over to the young couples, Frost – as always – at his side, "Who do we have here?" He inquired taking in the tall, somewhat familiar looking man, and the blond who had been in conversation with the newlywed couple. They were married, if the rings on their fingers, and the subtle, unconscious interactions between them were to be believed. "I don't believe we've met, I'm Alexei, Vivian's father."

"How do you do?" Chuck shook the older man's outstretched hand, "I'm Charlie Carmichael, and this is my wife Jenny," He smiled warmly down at the woman by his side before returning his focus to the father of the bride, "I'm a friend of Cole's from College… or well I believe you call it University over here, don't you? I did a semester abroad at Oxford and we wound up assigned as roommates. Since he'd made the journey to the states when we got married, it was only fair we returned the favor to come meet his bride and see them get married. I have to say, we met Vivian for the first time a couple nights ago and you must be very proud, she is absolutely one of the loveliest, wittiest, smartest women I've ever met, aside from my wife."

"Thank you, Mr. Carmichael," Alexei smiled lovingly at his only child, "I, alas, cannot take all the credit. Due to my line of work requiring me to travel extensively, she lived with my mother until she graduated University and came to work with me." The woman beside him gently cleared her throat, catching his attention, "Oh, but where are my manners, my deepest apologies, my love. Allow me to introduce my lovely companion, Miss Frost."

"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Frost," Chuck smiled kindly at her, extending his hand to shake hers. He knew the moment she'd spotted his cufflink, a flicker of recognition passed over her face so quickly before it was masked again that only he saw it.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Carmichael," Frost nodded to the young man before turning to the woman beside him, "Mrs. Carmichael."

"Miss Frost," Sarah gave her cover husband's mother a warm smile, "Lovely to meet you."

Mary noticed some men on the opposite side of the room looking around for someone, and there was little doubt as to who, "Alexei, it looks a if Yuri and Victor are needing to speak with you," She advised, her eyes flicking quickly to the men in question.

"A man's work is never done," Volkoff shook his head with a fake, set-upon, sigh, "It was wonderful to meet you both. Vivian, Darling, please come say good night if I am unable to come back your way before you and Cole take your leave."

"Of course, Papa," Vivian agreed, pressing a soft kiss to the man's cheek before he made his way across the room to speak with his business partners.

Once she was sure no one could overhear, Mary dropped the aloof Frost persona she'd been wearing ceaselessly for the past two decades, "You're wearing your father's cufflinks."

"They were a gift from Ellie in celebration of graduating from Stanford," Chuck smiled, "This was my first opportunity to wear them."

"I'm glad you have them now," Mary's maternal smile was mixed with nostalgia as she remembered seeing her husband wear those same cufflinks to the various galas and formal events they'd attended before she had to leave to deal with Alexei. "Were you able to make any progress?"

"Not as much as I would have liked," Chuck shook his head dejectedly, "I'm still working on it, but it's not going to be ready by tomorrow, I'm sorry, Mom."

"That's okay, Chuck," She assured him, "Your father tried for years to find a solution, I had a feeling it would take your longer than a few days."

"I'm starting to think I may need to call in a little help. I can't shake the feeling that there's something crucial in the programming that I'm missing," Chuck sighed, "Don't worry, it's still staying in the family, Sarah told me earlier that Ellie was granted the clearance needed to be read in. I'm hoping that she can help fill in the missing pieces. She's a neurologist, one of the best in the U.S."

"That has been her dream since she was a little girl," Mary nodded, "I am so glad she was able to make it come true."

"Hopefully with her help, we can make some more dreams come true," Chuck gave her a wistful look, "Specifically the dreams of you and Dad being able to come home and we be together again."

"That's one of my dreams too," Mary admitted before starting to transition back into Frost, "Keep me updated on your progress, send any communication through Cole. If you and your sister are able to figure out the solution to our mutual problem, we'll set up a dead drop for you to deposit the equipment."

"Will do," Chuck nodded, "It was good to see you again. In case I don't see you again, I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Son." Mary gave him one last motherly smile before her Frost persona locked into place, "Agent Walker, take care of him."

"I will protect him with my life," Sarah nodded, "If only because it would kill me to lose him."

"Good girl," With that, she turned on her heel to join up with Volkoff once more as he made his rounds from associate to associate.

"Well that's as close to her blessing as I think you'll ever get," Vivian chuckled, looking between Sarah and Chuck who were both blushing, recognizing the truth of the statement.

"We should probably get back to making the rounds," Cole reminded his new wife.

"Will we see you at the reception tomorrow?" Vivian gave them a hopeful look.

"We plan to be there," Chuck assured them, "Sarah has thus far been successful at containing my thinking juice consumption, so I hopefully won't make too much of a fool of myself."

"Oh, but Charlie, that's half the fun!" Vivian teased with a faux pout.

"Only to you and Elle, Vivey," He countered then yawned, "We should probably head out ourselves, I had a long night last night."

"I'll just bet you did, Mate," Cole chuckled with a knowing wink, and before either of the Carmichaels could protest, led his wife away to speak with their other guests.


	24. Chapter 24

Chuck and Sarah stayed at the after dinner social a short time longer just to make sure they could slip out unnoticed before making their way up to their room. The last thing they expected when they entered was to find Casey, seated on the couch staring at them as if he were Sarah's father and they'd missed curfew.

"Where the hell have you two been?" He demanded, "The wedding ended hours ago."

"We were invited to join them for the wedding supper afterwards," Chuck reminded him, "Or did you forget?"

A grunt of acknowledgement was all the response they got.

"We had to stick around long enough to speak to Frost without drawing attention to ourselves," Sarah explained, "Then wait long enough to make our exit unnoticed… why are we having to explain this to you? You're not either of our fathers."

"No, but unless you two idiots have forgotten, I am a member of your team," Casey pointed out, "And as such I am supposed to be kept in the loop, operationally. While this divide and conquer mentality may have worked the first day or so, the rest of the time I've been sitting on my gorram ass while you morons are gallivanting around as if this is a two-person op! Not only that, but the op you are running is not the one we were sanctioned for, and the one we were sanctioned for has made no progress."

"That's not entirely true," Chuck pointed out as he took a seat on the love seat, pulling Sarah down beside him, "Many of the wedding related events we have attended, Victor Federov has also been at. Every night he winds up in the same group of men who then retire to another room for some gathering or another. The mens' escorts, including my own mother and Ilsa, are not invited. Sergey "Noodles" Romanoff, Yuri Gorsky, Dmitry Siljak, and Grigory Krylov; all very, very bad men. Arms dealers, hit men, all under the control of Volkoff."

"So, it's not Fedorov's pipeline, we need to shut down, but Volkoff's," Sarah added.

"You mean the mission that the man's own daughter has failed to complete?" Casey gave them a skeptical look, "Yeah, good luck with that. How is the deprogramming coming?"

"Not as well as I had hoped," Chuck admitted, "I'm still working on it, but I think I'm going to need professional help."

"I could have told you that," Casey grunted.

Chuck responded with a mocking laugh, "I meant my sister."

"She doesn't have clearance."

"Actually, she does," Sarah countered, "It was awarded this morning, we need to bring her in on the Agent X override, Omaha, the Intersect, all of it. Her specialty could help us in successfully overriding the Volkoff programming and bring Frost in out of the cold. Not to mention, we really should have someone monitoring how Chuck's brain is adapting and reacting to the Intersect programming."

"So, what is our play?" Casey looked between the two younger members of his team.

"If we capture all of Volkoff and Federov's contact, that will set off alarm bells," Chuck pointed out, "I think the best bet would be to coordinate with Ilsa to capture Federov, preferably after the reception tomorrow so he won't be missed. Once Ellie and I are able to successfully create an override program for Volkoff, we'll take down the rest of the network then."

"I agree with Chuck, trying to take out he whole network at this time is risky," Sarah nodded, "One man isn't going to be missed for very long. They're in a dangerous line of work, their colleagues and contacts go missing and get dead all the time."

"Fine, we'll keep playing it the nerd's way," Casey grunted, "For now, it's late, I'm tired, and could use a snack. I'm gonna go order something to eat, I'm thinking pancakes, and get some sleep."

"Alright, good night, Casey," Chuck nodded as the older man rose and took his leave.

"I'm gonna go try to get some sleep," Sarah yawned, standing and heading toward the bedroom, "Join me?"

"I was hoping to get some work done on the…" He heard the sound of her zipper and the woosh of something falling to the ground, "Hi-oh!" His eyes popped out seeing her in the black lace bra and boy shorts she'd been wearing under her gown.

Sarah gave him an impish grin and disappeared into the bedroom. Chuck stared after her a moment then gave a brief look at his computer and the Intersect glasses sitting on the table, "Oh frack it!" He huffed, chasing after his girlfriend shedding his tux jacket, shirt and shoes as he went.

* * *

Waking up with Sarah in his arms was fast becoming one of his favorite, if not most favorite, ways to greet the morning. As she had been the morning before, she was spooned up against his chest, her fingers toying with his own intertwining them. She must have felt him smile against her shoulder as he kissed her because she was soon rolling over to look up at where he lay, head propped up on his hand, grinning at her. They held each other's gaze a few moments more before they couldn't take it anymore and their individual resolves snapped, sending them hurdling toward each other, lips and limbs tangling.

Chuck blindly reached toward his nightstand and came up empty, a quick glance confirmed his suspicion that the foil packets he'd piled there had truly been depleted. "Hold that thought," He hummed, pressing a soft kiss to Sarah's lips. "Don't breathe, don't move," He extracted himself from the bed trying his best to ignore the lascivious way Sarah was staring at him in the all together as he made his way into the bathroom.

Shutting the door behind himself, he opened his dopp kit, digging until he pulled out one last foil packet and checked to make sure it was still intact. He breathed a sigh of relief and headed back to the bedroom where Sarah sat, a sly grin on her lips, waiting for him. He crawled into bed, opening the packet as he went, "Now, where were we?" He smiled warmly at his girlfriend who took the condom from his hand.

"I think," She gave him a few strokes and rolled the condom over him, laying him back and straddling his hips. "Right about here," Sarah sunk down on him until they were fully joined, pausing to let her body adjust to him. He always loved that moment right after they joined, the snug but comfortable way they fit together as if they were two pieces of the same puzzle that only fit with each other. He felt her tighten slightly around him rising up as she leaned forward to press a soft kiss to him before slowly starting to rock her hips into him. "Make love to me, Charlie," She sighed as he lifted his hands to wrap around her narrow hips.

"As you wish, Jenny," He grinned, bucking his hips slightly, reveling in the throating gasp that escaped her lips as he flipped them until he hovered over her. Bracing his left hand on the bed beside her head, he leaned down to kiss her as he tucked the fingers of his right hand behind her knee and hitched her bent knees up until it rested against the side of his rib cage, her heel lightly resting against his lower back as he began to move inside her, changing his angle every so often just to watch her eyes flutter as he hit a particularly sensitive spot. He could feel her start to pulse around him, leaning down he whispered in her ear, "I got you, Baby, just let go."

She arched her back, pulling him deeper within her, as she let him carry her up and over the peak. "Oh my God, Jenny, you feel so good," He hummed, slowing slightly until she recovered before working them back toward that blissful precipice once more.

Sarah's deep blue eyes met his, which had turned from their usual warm hazel to an almost golden amber glow as he felt his own release nearing. She knew he was close and lifted her hand to caress his stubble covered jaw as she wove the fingers of her other hand into the curls at the base of his skull giving them a slight tug, smiling up at the strangled groan that emanated from deep in his throat as he gave a few sharp thrusts and rolled to the side so as to not crush her beneath his weight.

"Be right back," He slipped into the bathroom to clean up before returning to the bed and wrapping her up in his arms once more.

"You know, I'm required to be on the pill," She looked up from where her head was resting on his chest, "Even if you didn't have a condom, we would have been okay."

"Better safe than sorry," Chuck shrugged, "Although I do hope that someday we might be able to do without the precautions."

Sarah sat up, looking down at him, eyes wide in shock. "You want kids?"

"Well, yeah," Chuck slowly sat up, turning to face her, "I mean, I want to meet Molly and form a relationship with her first before we give her any sibling, but yeah. Someday, when it's safe to do so, whether we are still with the companies or not, I would love for a little person who is the best parts of both of us to be added to our family."

Sarah felt a small smile on her lips when Chuck had subconsciously reached out to lay his palm below her belly button where that new life could one day be formed. She laid her hand over top his, the fact they'd used the hands upon which they wore their wedding set did not escape her notice. "To be honest, I never really gave it any serious thought," She started softly, lifting her heat until her eyes met his. She could see the love radiating there, filling her with the delicious warmth she felt whenever they were able to connect like this, even back when they were kids sitting on that beach in San Diego. "At least not until Molly. Even then, I wouldn't even let myself dream of adding more… until Bryce's treason brought you back into my life." She felt a flutter in her stomach when he gave her that knee-melting, toe curling, smile that wrinkled his nose and eyes in that adorable way of his, "If I were to be honest, you are the only person I've ever even considered the notion of having kids with. I agree we should wait until after it's safe enough to have Molly home with us. Granted, we probably should have a home to bring her to first…"

Chuck cut her off, cupping his right hand behind her head and pulling her to him for a kiss so powerful it caused her brain to reboot. "Well, you have the rambling down." He smiled against her lips, "I'd say you're half-way to being a Bartowski already."

"Just shut up and kiss me," Sarah giggled as he dove at her once again, wrapping her up in his arms as their kiss grew deeper.

* * *

After showering and dressing in their casual clothes, they relaxed on the couch, reading to take a brief respite from all they'd encountered over the past few days. Sarah had her feet propped up on Chuck's lap as she read her copy of "_Weapon of Choice_" while Chuck read the latest issue of "_Justice League_" as he used his free hand to gently massage his girlfriend's feet. Every so often they would share a look, reveling in the simple domesticity of the moment.

The moment was broken by a knock at the door and a call of "Room service," from the attendant. They'd called down an order not too long before, since they hadn't eaten all day and knew that the reception would have little more than cake and passed hors d'oeuvres in the way of food. Sarah let out a sigh of complaint when Chuck gently moved her feet off of his lap so that he could retrieve their meals from the porter. With a smile and a generous tip, the porter was soon on their way as Chuck carried in a tray of soup, and water, setting them on the coffee table. Opening the water, he handed a bottle to Sarah who had turned to place her feet on the floor, he then uncovered one of the bowls of Gulyásleves – a Hungarian stew by the looks of it – and handed it and a spoon to Sarah. The kitchen had also included a round of country bread and butter, Chuck sliced off a few pieces for them to eat with their soup.

"I'm not sure if I should put much more work into the override algorithms or the glasses," Chuck sighed, sitting back after finishing his meal, "At least not until I have a chance to speak to Ellie."

Sarah nodded thoughtfully at his revelation, "I can see not working on the program it self until you speak to Ellie, no need to put in all that work and effort in case her input winds up setting you back," She postulated, "However, it couldn't hurt to keep working on the reconfiguration of the glasses, at least it would be on less thing to worry about once we're stateside."

"You may have a point," Chuck agreed, "Do we even know when we are going to get back stateside? I mean, it's a little over a week before Christmas, and I kinda want to be able to be home in time to celebrate with Ellie and Awesome. Not to mention the sooner we read Elle into all this, the sooner we can work on finding a solution for the Agent X Intersect so that Ellie and I, and Vivian can all have our parents back."

"There's really no reason to stay much past the reception tonight," Sarah shrugged, "Casey will likely get hands on Federov this evening as he heads back to his room after the party. Assuming all goes well, we can call up Ted and Elaine to set up our flight plan for the way home."

"Surely, you must be joking," Chuck snorted, "Are those really their names?"

"Yeah, Major Theodore Stryker, and Captain Elaine Stryker," Sarah gave her boyfriend a confused look as he burst out laughing. "Am I missing something?"

"Yes," Chuck squeaked out between guffaws, "But don't worry, you'll understand after our next movie night."

Sarah just looked at him perplexed before rolling her eyes, "While you get yourself together, I'm going to start getting ready for the reception."

"I'll be there in a minute," Chuck took some deep breaths to try to calm down.

Sarah shook her head at her boyfriend's efforts to calm down as she made her way into the bedroom and onto the bathroom to do her hair and makeup. The time it took for her to apply her makeup and style her hair, which she left town in a series of flirty curls, was just enough for Chuck to stop cackling and join her in the bedroom.

* * *

She'd already changed into the bra an panty set she would be wearing under her dress and attached her throwing knives to her upper thigh by the time she returned to the bedroom to find Chuck, dark charcoal suit, sanz jacket, pale blue shirt stretched taut across his shoulders as he bent to tie his shoes. It was clear he had not noticed her emergence from the bathroom until she'd slipped her dress on and walked to stand before him. She couldn't suppress a smile as she watched him register the black stilettos with the ankle strap she'd worn before letting his eyes drift up her shapely legs to the dress that hung loose on her body and kept going until his eyes met hers, the love and desire within his hazel eyes made her weak in the knees.

"Do me up?" She asked softly, turning and sweeping her hair to the side to give him unrestricted access to the zipper that ran up her spine.

"Su… Sure," He stammered, standing and locating the pull tab, slowly drawing it up as the dress she wore pull tighter against her, showing off her curves.

Sarah had chosen a simple, sleeveless, navy sheath dress that had a slit up her right leg that ended just below where her knives were holstered. It had a v-neckline and silver scroll detailing around the waist. She felt his thumbs brush across he nape of her neck, sending shivers down her spine when he lowered his head to replace his thumbs with his lips as he pressed a soft kiss there, making her weak in the knees.

"You are absolutely breathtaking, Jenny," He whispered against her ear as her breath caught in her throat and desire pooled in her stomach.

"Thanks, Charlie," She turned to press a soft kiss to his lips, "You are looking pretty good yourself," She ran her hands down the front of his shirt, enjoying the feel of he pecs and abs he'd started to develop since he'd started training with both her and Casey. "You should probably get your jacket on so we can be on our way," She advised pulling her wrap from her suitcase, just in case she needed it in the reception hall.

Chuck nodded and slipped his jacket on, before guiding her into the living room and, after checking he had his ID and room key, and Sarah had grabbed her handbag, opened the door of their suite to head down to the reception.

* * *

They spotted Cole and Vivian right away, Cole was wearing a nice black suit and Vivian was wearing an off the shoulders, white, fit and flare dress with a black sash around her waist. Her hair was swept up in a chignon at the right side of the nape of her neck, she wore a jeweled clip in her hair to accent her hair style. Since it had been established, at least with Volkoff and Frost that the coupled knew each other, and were friends, they were free and clear to approach.

"So, Mrs. Barker," Chuck teased his childhood friend, "How's married life treating you?"

"I have no complaints so far," She shared a knowing look with her husband which caused the group to chuckle at the implied meaning of the look. "Once we find a place to call home, we'll make sure you know how to reach us. We wouldn't want to miss it when it's your turn, and if we found our you did not invite us, we will be very put out."

"Was that a threat?" Chuck looked toward his girlfriend.

"No, it was a promise of retribution if we get married without them," Sarah chuckled before turning to their friends, "And I promise, after family you will be the first ones told if he ever works up the nerve to ask… but we're still a bit of ways off from that so you have time to enjoy your honeymoon and newlywed status for a while."

"Just don't make us wait too long," Cole advised, "Lest we have to beg off because Viv is eating for two."

The American couple's eyes immediately shot to Vivian, who blushed, "No, at least not yet. Our point is that the longer you wait the more likely it will be that I may be unable to travel due to being in a family way later on."

"We'll do our best to try not to potentially prohibit your potential procreation," Chuck responded drolly, causing the friends to burst out in laughter once more. "In all seriousness, Sarah's right, our relationship is relatively new-ish, and there are some factors that need to be considered before we take that step."

"'New-ish?'" Cole gave his friends an incredulous look.

"Remember that friend I told you about that I lost contact with?" Sarah sent a look her friend couldn't miss toward the man beside her.

"Right," Cole nodded in understanding.

"I still need a little more explanation," Vivian looked expectantly to her American counterparts.

"Jenny and I originally met I high school," Chuck explained, "At a band competition her school was hosting. It happened to coincide with ComicCon, another friend of mine snuck away from our chaperones to go. I only had enough money to get my access pass and go to a couple panels, but my buddy decided to stick around a little longer." Chuck smiled down at Sarah, "I had enough for the ferry to Coronado Island, so I figured I'd enjoy the beach for a bit before we caught the train toward the school to meet back up with our band. While I was there, I happened upon a girl about my age playing her violin for the crowd. I'd brought my guitar with me and wound up playing with her and spending the rest of the morning with her. She was fascinating, and one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen in my life."

"He's lying, I was really socially awkward, had frizzy hair, and braces," Sarah rolled her eyes.

"I stand by what I said," Chuck stated, "You of all people should know I could care less about physical appearance, although I'm not above appreciating it. I know I've said it before, but you grew up well, Jen."

"You already got the girl," Sarah chuckled, "You don't need to try so hard. Anyhow, like he said we spent the rest of the day together, first at the beach then once we arrived at the school, we spent every moment one of us wasn't on stage or next up together both that day and the next."

"We wanted to keep in touch an exchanged contact information," Chuck picked up the narrative once more, "We'd call every so often when we could. That went on for a moth or so, then one day I called her to invite her to my senior prom, and I got an automated message reporting that her phone had been turned off and had no forwarding number."

"My father had been arrested and the now director of the CIA gave me the choice of going to jail or working with him. I chose the latter," Sarah shrugged, "He arranged for a foster family to take me in and got me tutors who helped me to fast track my way thought the rest of high school. I was accepted as an early admission student to Harvard under the name Sarah Walker and went to my CIA training during breaks and summer."

"In the meantime; I was attending Stanford," Chuck supplied.

"I remember that was where you'd always wanted to go," Vivian smiled, "I'm glad you were able to go."

"Thanks," Chuck gave her a smile, "In any event there was a guy in my frat who framed me for cheating on a test and selling the answers, as it turns out he was trying to get my name removed from the list of potential CIA recruits that the teacher in question was in charge of. As a result, I was expelled."

"Don't worry," Sarah assured Vivian who'd let out a startled gasp, "We've since corrected it and he is officially a Stanford graduate, not as good as graduating from Harvard, but a close second. At least he didn't go to Yale."

"Anyhow between me being kicked out of school and receiving my degrees years later, I was working at a BuyMore in Burbank." Chuck continued, "The guy who'd gotten me expelled, and was incidentally Sarah's ex-partner, stole some important data and sent it to me. Jenny, or Sarah as she is now known, came back into my life. With her help my expulsion was reversed and my academic records expunged of the expulsion. I was then hired on as an analyst, we've been together ever since she returned."

"Okay, after all that, we'd better see an envelope in our post box within the year." Vivian looked at her friends.

"There are a few other things to take into account," Sarah hedged, "This is not the place to get into it."

"Understood," Cole nodded then looked past his friends to see Frost coming toward them, her eyes squarely on her son. "Uh, mate, your mum seems to be looking for you."

Before he could turn to look, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his arm, above his elbow, and let out a gasp of shock. That has been his mother's favorite way to get his attention when he was misbehaving as a child, and apparently it still was. Putting the Carmichael façade back on he turned, a pleasant smile on his face toward the woman who had given him life. "Good evening, Miss Frost."

"Don't you 'Good evening,' me Charles Irving," Frost lectured soto voce, but loud enough for his girlfriend and their friends to hear, all of whom were barely containing their laughter at his discomfort, much to his dismay, "I heard what you said about how you met your Jenny…"

"I'm getting bad Ellie flashbacks," Chuck murmured to Sarah who tried to suppress a giggle as his mom pinched him again, "Ow, damn it, woman! It was ten years ago; my punishment was appropriately meted out by my chaperone and then boss and Ellie put me through my paces earlier this year when she'd eventually found out."

"And now it's my turn," Frost gave him a pointed look, "You're just lucky you're too big for me to put over my knee, let alone ground you," She pinched him again in the exact same spot she'd gotten him with pinpoint accuracy since she'd come his way, "At least I still have that until I can come up with something else."

"Would it help if I said I was sorry and I know now that, despite how well it turned out for me, it was the wrong choice for me to make?" Chuck offered, "Even if it was mostly Morgan's idea."

Mary let out a frustrated huff while Sarah chuckled, "You're not helping yourself, Sweetheart," His girlfriend reminded him.

"Frost, my love," They heard Volkoff call to the Bartowski matriarch.

"This isn't over Charles Irving," She warned under her breath before affixing a smile to her face and walking away toward her brainwashed charge.

"Oh, believe me, I know…" Chuck groaned, turning to his friends, "I'm in so much trouble."


	25. Chapter 25

"I'd forgotten your middle name is Irving," Vivian giggled.

"You're one to talk," Chuck groused, "Isn't your middle name Millicent?"

"It's a family name," Vivian protested with a slight pout.

"Come now, let's not pick on the bride," Cole interjected, "Besides Millicent is a perfectly lovely name?"

"Oh really?" Chuck smirked, "Try saying that with a straight face."

"None of us should really be teasing each other about embarrassing names," Sarah turned her sights on the groom, "Should we, Colton Archibald?"

Cole looked at her flabbergasted, "How did you…"

"Spy," Sarah gave him a look that said he should know better than to ask, "Plus Carina let it slip along with some anecdote about union jacks and handcuffs?"

"Did she now?" Vivian gave a wicked smile to Sarah, "I think I need to hear this…"

Seeing the slight blush on Cole's cheek and his ticking jaw Sarah gave her new friend a conspiratorial grin, "I'll tell you later." She spared a glance to the men, "And before you ask, Renata."

"Appropriate," Chuck nodded then gave her a questioning look, "Wait, I thought your middle name was Lisa."

"My company cover's middle name is Lisa," Sarah pointed out, "My birthname, however, is a different story. One that will be shared one day in a more secure setting."

"Understood," Chuck nodded once more.

Their conversation was ended when the music faded out and Volkoff was given a microphone. All eyes turned to him as he greeted the guests and thanked them for coming to celebrate his daughter's wedding. As the waitstaff circulated the room, passing out glasses of champagne and vodka to the guests and the bridal party, Volkoff proceeded to toast the newlywed couple, wishing them prosperity and a long life together and raised his glass in a toast. Once everyone had taken a sip of their drink, shouts of "Gorko, gorko, gorko!" Began echoing throughout the room.

It was clear that Vivian and Cole had been hoping to avoid this particular tradition, but they rolled their eyes in resignation for what was expected of them. Cole gave his bride a small shrug before taking her in his arms and giving her a long, passionate, kiss that skirted on the inappropriate, in hopes that there would be no more calls of 'Gorko' or clanking of cutlery on stemware the remainder of the night. Once the masses were satisfied with the kiss, the microphone was passed to Cole who gave a toast to the father of the bride, as he was the only parent related to the couple who was still alive.

The guests drank a toast to Volkoff as the deejay called the newlyweds to the dance floor to open the night's dancing. Since they hadn't wanted to use anything with lyrics, they'd chosen an instrumental piece entitled '_Under the Bridges of Paris_' to which they performed a slow, elegant, Waltz. With a low dip to finish off the dance, Cole brought his wife back into his arms for a brief kiss before handing her off to her father as Elton John's '_Your Song_' began to play.

When the deejay invited everyone to the floor, Chuck held out his hand to Sarah in invitation to dance, which she gladly accepted. After a while, Cole cut in to dance with Sarah while Chuck invited Vivian to join him for a song or two before the men switched partners once more.

Before long, it was time to cut the cake, which was done with great ceremony and the happy couple politely feeding each other their first bites of the sweet confection, earning them groans and heckling from their guests who had been encouraging them to smash the cake in each other's faces. While the cake was taken away to be cut and served, the honor attendants were handed microphones to toast the couple. Since both the honor attendants had been married for a while, they offered their own advice to a long and happy marriage before offering a blessing and a toast to the happy couple.

Once the cake had been distributed and eaten, the dancing started up again. Seeing that Volkoff had claimed his daughter for a dance, Chuck suggested Sarah ask Cole to dance, and crossed the floor himself to where Frost was seated, enjoying her last bites of the savory carrot cake with cream cheese frosting that had been distributed.

Upon being asked for a dance, Frost reluctantly accepted and linked her arm through her son's as he led her onto the floor. Chuck offered a proper ballroom frame for her to step into as he began to lead her around the floor to the instrumental piece that was being played. "At least now Cole and Vivey can say there was technically a mother-son dance at their wedding," He spoke softly so that only his mother could hear.

"Please don't tell me you dragged me out there just to be able to make that observation," Mary rolled her eyes.

"No," He chuckled, "At least it wasn't the only reason. I needed an excuse to speak with you. I am nearly done reformatting the Intersect glasses to accept the override program."

"Good," Frost nodded, "Do we have an expected time frame for when the final product will be ready?"

"No, not yet," Chuck sighed, "No matter what I do, I keep running into the same problem Dad had before, while I'm able to get the actual data to cancel out, there is an issue implementing it to be absorbed by the host's neural network. I'm going to have to bring in a neurologist to assist me in finishing the project. I already have someone in mind, we just got cleared to read them in on the project."

"It's not that hack Zarnow is it?" Mary groaned.

"No, I um, well I brought him to the attention of the powers that be for his involvement in selling state secrets to North Korea. According to Casey they dropped him in a deep dark hole in a black site somewhere in Nevada," Chuck gave her a small smile. "The neurologist that's been approved is one of the best in the country, which is impressive as they only completed their fellowship a couple years ago. It's um… well, it's Ellie."

The look his mother gave him chilled him to the bone and left no question as to how she came by the code name 'Frost Queen.' "That best be another Ellie with whom you are in acquaintance." She practically growled, "Especially because your father and I made it abundantly clear to the directorate that you children were off limits."

"Need I remind you I work on a joint CIA/NSA taskforce?" Chuck spoke softly, "And was on the shortlist for recruitment before Agent Larkin interceded at dad's behest?"

"Not that it stuck," Mary sighed dejectedly, "Charles, I don't want Eleanor getting involved in all this."

"If we have any hope of fixing Uncle Hartley and paving the way for you and Dad to be able to come home, she just may be our only hope." Chuck gave his mother a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, but this is the way we're doing it."

"Please be careful," Mary sighed, "And if at all possible, hide her identity in the records so this is the only thing she's pulled in for."

"I can't do that, Mom," Chuck shook his head, "Her clearance was already in the works before this because she is needed to oversee the neurological impact of the Intersect on my brain. I mean, would you rather some stranger go poking around in my head or Ellie?"

"I'd honestly rather neither," Mary gave him a pointed look, "But since we are beyond that option now, I suppose Ellie would be the best choice. She, at least, has a vested interest in keeping you healthy and protected."

"Assuming she doesn't kill me first," Chuck shrugged, "I'm already on her shit list…"

"Charles…" Mary warned.

"Sorry," He blushed, "I'm already in enough trouble with her for the band trip incident."

"Let me guess," Mary gave her son a knowing look, "She only just found out about it."

"Yes," Chuck averted his eyes from his mother's smug look, "I can only imagine how she's going to react to the fact I've been lying to her about what I've been up to the last few months since Jenny and I reconnected."

"She'll get over it," Mary assured him, "She may be upset for a while, and she'll have a right to be, especially since you have gotten yourself into a potentially dangerous line of work. However, I think once she is over the shock, she'll be proud of the work you are doing. I know I am, even if I'm not fond of the fact you're doing it."

"Thanks," Chuck gave her a soft smile as he heard the song come to an end, "Once we have a successful prototype, I'll reach out to you through the channels we previously discussed."

"I look forward to it," Mary nodded, taking her son's arm again to be escorted back to her table, "More than you'll ever know."

"I have an idea," Chuck gave her a warm smile, "Thank you for the dance, Miss Frost. I hope I didn't step on your toes too much."

"Not at all, Mr. Carmichael," Frost gave him a congenial smile, "You are an exceptional dance partner, I enjoyed myself thoroughly, although I suspect your wife is eager to claim you once more."

Chuck looked over his shoulder to where Sarah stood speaking with Cole and Vivian while shooting the occasional look his way. "I suspect you are right," He chuckled. "If you'll excuse me."

Frost gave him an acknowledging nod and watched her son cross the floor once more to join the woman he clearly adored.

The tempo of the music picked up and several of the men had crowded the floor, jumping and dancing in a circle. Chuck did his best to skirt the group, but was stopped a few feet from his goal when he heard an older man's voice call out, "My dear sweet Sacha, is that you? Give your cousin a big hug!" Before he knew it, he was being pulled into the circle by the man, "Meet fourth cousin on my mother's side. Sacha wants to dance!"

"No! Nyet, Sacha does not want to dance!" Chuck's protests fell on deaf ears as he shot a panicked look toward Sarah who, along with Vivian and Cole, was trying and failing to hide her amusement at the situation he'd found himself in. The interaction did not escape the older man's notice, "You like the blonde!" He then turned and called out to Sarah, "Come here, you dance with Sacha!"

Sarah tried to wave the dancing men off, but a firm push from four hands had her thrust into the center of the melee where Chuck was bouncing along with the other men. She felt his left hand reach for her right while his left pulled her closer to him. She didn't know if it was to keep her out of the way of the men bouncing around her, to claim her so as to discourage the leers she'd been getting from many of these men all night, or if he just wanted to hold her in his arms, but whatever the reason, she wasn't going to complain.

"Ah, I see now!" Sacha's cousin exclaimed, seeing the rings on their fingers, "The blonde is your wife!"

Sarah noticed the proud look on Chuck's face as he pulled her closer for a moment before spinning her and bringing her back into his arms for a quick kiss. Clearly, this confirmed his 'cousin's' words as the men surrounding them cheered. She saw him glance quickly to where Cole and Vivian still stood, watching them, an impish smile on his lips before he spoke.

"You know, the bride and groom are right over there," He nodded toward the newlyweds. The men cheered as the 'cousin' moved faster than a man of his stature should be able to, and grabbed the newlyweds, pulling them into the center of the circle.

"Thanks a lot, Mate," Cole gave him a droll look as Vivian laughed at their predicament.

"Oh relax," Chuck teased him, "It's one song, surely you can endure one song."

"Fine," Cole rolled his eyes, pulling his wife into his arms.

"And don't call him Shirley," Vivian joked, sending the women into a fit of giggles, much to the chagrin of her friend and husband.

"I never should have introduced you to that movie," Chuck groaned, "And since it's the perfect inflight movie, we'll watch it on our way back home." He promised Sarah who gave him a nod.

Once the dance had ended, they were, thankfully free to go and made their way to a nearby table with enough chairs for all of them. Over the din of the revelers, a clock could be heard chiming the hour.

"Is it that time already?" Vivian inquired while trying to suppress a yawn.

"What's the matter Cinderella?" Cole smirked at his wife, "You gonna turn into a pumpkin if you aren't back in our room by midnight?"

"You know, you're not so handsome I won't make you sleep on the couch." She warned.

"Oh please," Cole rolled his eyes, "You'd last all of an hour or two before begging me to come back to bed."

The blush on Vivian's cheeks confirmed the accuracy of her husband's statement. "Shut it." She gave him a petulant look, "It's partly your fault I'm so tired."

"TMI, Vivey," Chuck groaned.

"Oh please, like we don't know what you and your Jenny were doing all night," Vivian shot back at her childhood friend.

"For your information I was working," Chuck looked one moment away from sticking his tongue out at her.

"Ah, so is that what the kids are calling it these days?" Cole teased.

"Fuck you, Cole," Sarah snickered, "You are only a couple years older than the rest of us. Besides, what Charlie and I get up to in the privacy of our rooms is none of your concern."

"In that case, I will need you to excuse my lovely bride and myself," Cole smirked, "We have some 'work' to do." He rose, extended his hand to his wife, and they made their way out of the party, stopping only briefly to say a few words to Volkoff before disappearing

"I really hate smirkers," Sarah groaned.

"You're just mad you didn't think of it first," Chuck teased her, "But seeing as the couple has taken their leave, it is now socially acceptable to head out. I believe we have some unfinished work of our own to attend to."

"Why Mr. Carmichael," Sarah let out a fake gasp, "Are you insinuating you are planning to have your way with me once we are back in our rooms."

"Not insinuating," Chuck shook his head with a sly grin, "Stating definitively that I am planning to have my way with you, Mrs. Carmichael."

"Hmm," Sarah leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, "Then what are you waiting for?"

He didn't have to be asked twice before pulling Sarah to her feet, handing her wrap, which had been draped over the back of her chair, back to her and leading her out of the ballroom and toward the elevator to enjoy the rest of their night in the privacy of their rooms.

* * *

As they had every morning, Chuck and Sarah awoke snuggled in each other's arms. After showering and packing, Chuck contacted Casey to have him meet in their sitting room for a final briefing before taking their leave. While they waited, Sarah ordered breakfast and coffee for the three of them.

Casey arrived a half hour later, through the door that connected their rooms as a knock sounded on the main door. Chuck greeted his teammate as he answered the door, signed the check and accepted delivery of their meal. The trio took their seats around the dining table to begin their debrief over breakfast.

"Picked up Fedorov last night as he made his way to his room," Casey reported taking a bite of his eggs, "He was halfway to being drunk, so it didn't take much pentothal to get him to start talking. Didn't tell us more than we already know; seems the pipeline begins and ends with Volkoff, the man's got his fingers in pretty much every pie, except trafficking, seems that's where he draws the line."

"Do you need more time with Fedorov" Sarah looked to the older man.

"Nah, turned him over to the DGSE," Casey shook his head, "Seems he's wanted as a suspect in an ongoing investigation of theirs. He's worthless to us as a source of information, anyhow. How are we coming on your dad's old project?

"Well, hopefully once we're able to get the removal program working, that should help resolve the Volkoff issue," Chuck nodded, "We got approval yesterday to read Ellie in once we are back stateside. Sarah and I will sit down with her after Christmas to drop that particular bomb. Depending on when we can arrange to leave, we'll be arriving a day or so before the holiday."

"Let me see what I can do about that," Sarah pulled out her phone and dialed a number before placing it on speaker.

"Strykers secure," Came the man's voice.

"Walker and team secure," Sarah reported, "We're about done with what we came here to do, how soon could we get a ride home?"

"Shouldn't take too long to set up and file a flight plan to get us back state side," Major Stryker informed them, "Heck, the wife and I just woke up not too long ago; you caught us in the middle of breakfast. We're rested and ready to go, so we could realistically schedule a departure for a few hours from now. We'll still need to stop over somewhere, likely Paris again, seeing as we can't do the whole thing in one shot."

"Understood, I'll reach out to the powers that be to arrange lodging once you figure our stopping point."

"Rodger that," Major Stryker acknowledged, "I'll send you the details shortly."

"Thanks, we'll be waiting for it," Sarah nodded, and ended the call, "Well if you aren't packed, Casey, I'd suggest you do so."

Casey gave her a look and a grunt that clearly meant 'What do you take me for?'

Sarah's phone chimed with an incoming message just as the team was finishing their meal. "Alright, looks like we will be overnighting in Paris and will departing in about two and a half hours." Sarah confirmed, checking her phone.

While Sarah called headquarters to arrange lodging for the team and the flight crew, Chuck finished collecting his equipment and double checking their suite to make sure nothing was being left behind. Casey, who had gone over to his room to collect his bags, called for transportation and let the team know their ride would be arriving in a half an hour.

The ride to the airport was congested with normal business day traffic as the denizens of the city headed toward their places of business. When they arrived at the airport, they found that their pilots had already completed their walk around and checklists and were waiting for their arrival to take off. The ground crew made quick work of loading their gear in the stowage compartment of the plane while Chuck, Sarah, and Casey boarded and claimed their seats for their flight.

Once they'd reached altitude, Chuck pulled out his laptop and the movie he promised Sarah he would show her. Casey was walking by on his way to the galley and caught sight of the DVD case.

"Put that up on the screen," He ordered, much to the surprise of the young couple, "What? I happen to like this movie; I don't know any pilot who doesn't."

"Whatever you say, Big Guy," Chuck shrugged and started setting up the system to play the movie. When he returned to his seat, he was told to wait for Casey who had gone back to the galley to see if he couldn't locate some popcorn.

Chuck nodded and left the DVD on the main menu until Casey returned, handing each of them a bag of the fluffy snack, and settled in his seat, rotating it to be able to see the screen. They laughed and rolled their eyes at the physical gags and puns. Sarah even pointing out where the lead actor was ducked behind an extra in the dance scene to pop back up from where his character, played by a dummy, was tossed over the heads of the spectators.

The movie finished just as Major Stryker announced they were about to make their descent. "I can't believe I never saw this before!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Well you haven't really been exposed to much pop culture," Chuck pointed out, "But I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Their stopover in Paris went much the way it had before with the team and the flight crew going to separate accommodations for the night and meting up in the morning for the long flight back to DC. They landed at Fort Mead in the early afternoon and went immediately to General Beckman's office to check in and pick up the NDA forms that had been prepared for Ellie and Devon's briefing.

Casey grunted goodbye and headed toward the BOQ leaving Chuck and Sarah to make their way back to DC. Their flight back to Burbank was the next morning and they wanted to get some rest so they weren't too tired to enjoy the festivities that would be starting practically from the moment they arrived back at Echo Park. Casey, of course had been invited and would be taking a later flight in to join them in a couple days on Christmas Eve.


	26. Chapter 26

As they had when they'd traveled to Burbank for Christmas, their flight was going to be early in the morning. They'd done laundry and repacked their suitcases for the less formal environment that they would enjoy over the holiday. They also had boxed up the rest of their gear and more formal clothing to be shipped back to Casey's condo in Echo Park. They were hopeful they would find a more permanent solution for not only their office but their living situation by the time their things arrived since knew they would be based in California as an auxiliary station connected to the LA field office.

Since the cover they had established for Chuck around Halloween was that he was to be a cybersecurity specialist, the agencies were looking for offices that were small enough to be believable as a tech start-up but had enough storage space to support their covert operations and equipment. Before they'd gone back to Sarah's apartment the night before Beckman informed them that they would be given a list of properties for the team to look over and decide on during the week between Christmas and the new year. During the long flight from Paris to DC, Chuck and Sarah had had a serious discussion debating the merits of establishing separate domiciles or just getting a place together. Chuck had made the point that they had only been dating since just after his birthday, a time frame of just over three months. Sarah had countered by pointing out that they'd been pretty much living together since the beginning of his training the previous month. She also pointed out it would be more affordable to just get a larger place for them to share rather than renting separate, smaller apartments.

"Another option is we could pool our resources and buy a house," She had mentioned as they were folding their laundry and packing for their trip. "The companies will be paying for the office space, and with all the traveling I do, much of my expenses were covered, so I haven't really had a chance to spend much of my money."

"Except for your Porsche," Chuck pointed out, "And your shoes… on what planet does a person need nearly a full walk-in closet of shoes? I've only ever seen you wear maybe three pairs in the time we've been together."

"You might have a point about the shoes," Sarah acknowledged, "And the Porsche was my dream car, so it's only natural that I got on when I was able to afford it. I'm planning to have it shipped out once we are more established in California."

"I probably should try to find a car of my own since I no longer have access to the nerd herd mobiles." Chuck sighed, "Renting a car is going to get expensive."

"Technically until our base of operations is up and running, we are still considered DC based," Sarah shrugged, "The company is reimbursing the rental cost for as long as we need it."

"Good to know," Chuck nodded, zipping up his case and taking it out to the living room to await their early morning departure. He'd already hacked the airline's system to upgrade them to a row with more leg room and double checked their LEO status was notated in their reservation. Once Sarah's bags had joined him in the living room, they shuffled off to bed to get some sleep before catching their flight home.

* * *

The benefit of flying East to West on an early departure is that you arrive by midmorning. Since Chuck was more comfortable flying as a LEO, he wasn't as awkward when informing the flight attendant of his and Sarah's status or that they were armed, Sarah with her Smith and Wesson and he with the tranq pistol that Sarah and Casey now insisted he carry at all times, since he refused to carry a live weapon despite earning expert ranking with a pistol and sharpshooter with a rifle. They had, however, reached an agreement that if they were sent on a mission, he was required to carry a live weapon as backup in case he got himself into a situation where use of deadly force was necessary to defend himself or someone else from being wounded fatally.

The flight went smoothly, with most of the passengers dozing in their seats throughout the flight due to the early hour of departure. Sarah had insisted that since they were flying commercial rather than private, one of them would need to be awake at all times during the flight. She was also clearly drowsy if the yawns she was letting out were any indication, and since Chuck was too excited about seeing his sister again to be able to sleep, he offered his shoulder as a pillow, which she accepted with minimal protest and only awakened when the flight attendants had started going through the cabin doing their prearrival checks of tray tables, seatbacks, and seatbelts.

It took an hour and a half between when arrived to the time they were finally able to depart the airport after collecting their luggage and rental car, relatively quick for LAX approaching a holiday. Another 45 minutes later, they were parking in one of the visitor stalls in the parking lot for the Echo Park Condos. They had deliberately been vague about when they would be returning to Burbank in case something went sideways during the mission or they got waylaid upon arriving back state side. Luckily, aside from Chuck's difficulty coding a successful override program, they were not delayed in their return.

Chuck had a key to the condo, since he still technically lived there until he was able to find his own place, but opted to knock on the door, knowing Ellie and Devon were home. He'd seen their cars in the lot and wanted to surprise them. They heard a female voice call out she was coming a few moments before the door opened and they were met with the large green eyes of Chuck's sister.

"Chuck!" Ellie barely held in her excited squeal as she wrapped first her brother then his girlfriend in tight hugs, Ellie joy pouring out over them. "You're home!"

"We're home," He confirmed with a smile to his sister, "Are you going to let us in?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Ellie chuckled and stepped back to let Chuck and Sarah enter. "How was your flight?"

"Good," Chuck shrugged, "No issues, arrived on time, and getting out of LAX only took about 90 minutes."

"That's really quick," Ellie agreed, "But you're here now, and that's the important thing. Why don't you go drop your bags off in your room maybe get cleaned up and since it's almost noon, we'll catch up over lunch."

"Sounds good, Elle," Chuck gave his sister a smile and, turning, guided his girlfriend down the hall to his room which they would be sharing until they found a place, or places, to live. After depositing their bags and taking a quick shower to get the travel grime off of themselves, they joined Ellie and Devon who were just finishing plating up some grilled cheese and tomato soup.

"So, are you back-back from DC?" Ellie looked between her brother and his girlfriend.

"Yeah, we are up to speed with the system they use," Chuck confirmed, "And they've already mentioned offering us a contract to start a project after the new year, which gives us a week or so to, at least, try to find some office space out here. We have some appointments next week to look at a few spaces."

"That's Awesome," Devon beamed, "Way to go, Chuckster! Any idea as to when you might get your own place?"

"Devon!" Ellie scolded.

"Not that we don't love to have you here," He corrected, "But now that you are Sarah are together, you probably want your own space to let the worm wiggle free."

Chuck blushed.

"Devon, honestly, I didn't need to hear that." Ellie groaned.

"Especially since it's not remotely true," Sarah pointed out, "Python would be a more apt analogy."

Chuck choked on the bite of soup dipped sandwich at his girlfriend's words and Ellie looked at the younger woman in shock.

"Nice!" Devon crowed, lifting his hand to his girlfriend's younger brother, "High five, Dude!"

Chuck reluctantly gave the older man a high five before hunching over again, trying to fade into the chair.

"Okay, can we just put a moratorium on my little brother's sex life?" Ellie begged, sending a pointed look at Sarah and Devon who were beaming. "I really can't afford the therapy or the brain bleach."

"I second that," Chuck chimed in, "No more talking about the sex lives of the couples living in this house. I want to hear about Ellie's sex life even less than she wants to hear about mine."

Ellie nodded along with her brother's statement. Devon and Sarah reluctantly agreed as they changed the subject to the upcoming holiday celebrations since Christmas was only a couple days away. Since the majority of their shopping had been done during their last trip home, they only needed to pick up a few more things and the rest of their time would be spent baking and cooking in preparation of the Christmas Eve dinner Ellie would be hosting for their friends.

It had long been a tradition in the Bartowski home to have a large dinner with their friends in the early evening on Christmas Eve so that anyone who had other family obligations could then go straight from the dinner to their other obligation. Christmas day was just for the Bartowski siblings, Morgan usually showed up in the afternoon to join their Twilight Zone marathon, and Devon was naturally added to their number when he and Ellie became more serious. Now Sarah would be joining them, and Chuck was excited to finally spend a Bartowski Christmas with the woman who'd captured his heart all those years ago.

* * *

Casey arrived the evening of the 22nd and spent the 23rd with his daughter. Much as they had the day after Thanksgiving, they went to the local indoor range and got lunch together and spent some time catching up while shopping for the white elephant gifts they would need for the next day's festivities before Joining Kathleen and Mark for dinner.

The next afternoon, he arrived, bottle of wine and a white elephant gift in hand, to join the Bartowskis and the rag-tag mix of friends and co-workers they called their family for Christmas Eve dinner. Devon welcomed him in and offered him a scotch and placed the wine on the table before pointing to the side table where the gifts for the exchange were being piled up. His daughter and the hobbit she was dating arrived a short time after, arms loaded up with colorfully wrapped boxes and bags, depositing two bags on the gift table and tucking a few under the table before setting the boxes under the colorful tree that had been erected in the corner of the room.

"Hey Dad," Alex smiled up at her father as she gave him a side hug and accepted the glass of wine Morgan handed her. "Long time, no see," She joked.

Casey grunted a snort and took a sip of his scotch.

"It's good to see you again, Casey," Morgan extended his hand to his girlfriend's father, "How was your trip?"

"Grimes," Casey shook the shorter man's hand, a modicum of respect for the man making its way into his brain as he acknowledged that Morgan may not be the lazy screw-up he initially thought him to be. "Trip was fine. I'm sure Bartowski will wax poetic, but it was nothing of note."

"Speaking of, have you seen Chuck?" Morgan looked around in search of the tall nerd.

"He's in his bedroom," Sarah piped in as she entered the dining area, carrying a tray of appetizers for people to snack on, and wearing an apron over her red sweater and black skirt, "He was working, but he'll be out in a minute."

"Looking very domestic, Walker," Casey teased.

"Thank you," She smiled at him.

"Wasn't a compliment," He grunted.

"I know," Sarah grinned, "But I'm taking it as one anyway." She then turned on the heel of her strappy black pumps and returned to the kitchen to continue helping with the dinner prep.

Chuck, arrived a short time later, wearing a forest green button down and black slacks. Morgan immediately walked over to greet his best buddy with a complicated handshake that ended with a fist bump. "Hey Morg, how's it going?"

"Good!" Morgan beamed, "Tang was so butthurt about not getting the assistant manager position that he up and quit a week after Thanksgiving. I heard a rumor about a farm in Hawaii growing the fruit that shall not be named.

Chuck rolled his eyes at his friend before turning and greeting the young woman who had joined them, "Alex, good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too." Alex smiled, accepting the hug and cheek kiss Chuck gave her. "I'm glad you guys are all back. It's nice to know that Dad will be around more often now, and I am looking forward to becoming friends with Sarah, we really hit it off at Thanksgiving.

"She mentioned wanting to get to know you better," Chuck agreed, "I'm gonna go see if they need any help in the kitchen. We'll talk more over dinner."

Morgan and Alex nodded their understanding and went off to see if they couldn't find other people they might know. Chuck headed into the kitchen and took stock of where everyone was. Ellie was at the stove stirring various things in pots and pans, Devon had the upper door of the double ovens open, checking to see if the ham was done, and Sarah was at the opposite counter cutting up vegetables for salad and tossing them in the bowls that would be distributed over the large table that had been formed from extensions and folding tables until they had enough room for all their guests.

"Jen, you look good enough to eat," He hummed in her ear, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing a soft kiss to her jaw just below her ear.

"Behave yourself, Charlie," She giggled, setting down the knife she'd been holding and spinning to face him, letting her arms drift up to encircle his shoulders as she lifted up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Now, I know you didn't come in here just to be an insatiable flirt."

"I just came in to see if I could help," He shrugged.

"It's nearly done," She informed him, looking over his shoulder, "Devon is pulling the ham out now and Ellie should be done with the side dishes soon. Check with your sister, but you could probably start letting folks know to start heading toward the table then help us carry everything out."

"Alright," Chuck nodded, giving her one more peck on the lips before walking over to speak with his sister who gave him the go-ahead to get everyone seated. Morgan, Alex, and Casey all volunteered to help bring the various dishes out to the table and soon everyone was joined around the table.

Dinner was consumed amid lively discussions of the various people seated around the table. The feelings of warmth and hospitality swirling about the room. Every so often Chuck would catch a slight hint of melancholy in his girlfriend's eyes and made a metal note to speak to her about it that night after all their guests had gone home.

Once dinner had finished, and the little bit of food that still remained was packed away, Devon, Chuck, Morgan, and several of the other repeat guests went to work dismantling the table and rearranging the living room furniture until there was enough room for everyone to gather in the living room for the white elephant exchange. Trays of cookies and pies of many shapes, flavors, and sizes were placed on the table along with disposable dessert plates, napkins, and plastic silverware for folks to get at their leisure.

Ellie, in her official capacity as hostess handed out pens and slips of paper instructing the guests to write down their names and toss them in the bowl she would pass around. Once the bowl had been passed and the slips deposited, Devon, Chuck, and Morgan did a head count and brought over the correct amount of gifts, setting them in the middle of the room. One by one, Ellie called out names, randomly pulled from the bowl.

The first person called was, June, a young woman with a brunette pixie cut and bright green eyes, who had gone to college with Ellie and had gotten her nursing degree while Ellie went on to medical school. She took a moment to look over the packages before selecting a bag and returning to her seat to open it, revealing a DVD of '_A Charlie Brown Christmas_.' It was a long-standing rule, after a few people tried to use the exchange to regift unwanted items, that the gifts had to be newly purchased with a $20 limit. Julie smiled and sat back with her gift, hoping it would not be stolen during the course of the exchange. The next person was called, and he also selected a package from the pile, opening it to reveal a sugar cookie scented candle.

The third person stole the second person's candle, causing the second person to go into the pile of gifts to select a new present. This continued until everyone had a gift, most of whom were satisfied with the gifts they wound up taking home.

Some guests had to leave to join other friends or family for Christmas Eve celebrations, including Morgan and Alex who had been invited to join Morgan's mother and their family for Christmas Eve mass at St. Finbar Parish. Luckily Alex spoke Spanish and had been helping Morgan in acquiring the language he neglected to learn as a child, since the mass they were attending was to be held in Spanish. Within a few hours the last of the guests had left, leaving Ellie, Devon, Chuck, and Sarah.

As was tradition, they all opened one gift as they sat around the now quiet living room sipping hot chocolate. All of them got matching Christmas pajama sets, another tradition of the Bartowski siblings that had been started by their grandmother who would make Christmas jammies every year for all the grandchildren. When she had passed away, the Bartowskis and their cousins carried on the tradition with each other and, for those who had them, their children.

Since it was late, and Chuck and Sarah had been up since one in the morning, California time, they all said goodnight and headed to bed. Changing into their Christmas pajamas, Chuck couldn't help but smile at how adorable Sarah looked in the blue night shirt decorated with a white snowflake print she had been given. He'd been given sleep pants with the same print and a white t-shirt. Devon and Ellies pajamas had been red with candy canes and a grey t-shirt for Devon. Snuggling up in bed, Chuck pressed a kiss to his girlfriend's head whispering a soft good night as they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

They awoke to the blissful smell of cinnamon rolls baking and coffee percolating and made their way out into the main area of the condo. Ellie was just pulling a pan of cinnamon rolls and transferring them to the cooling rack where she proceeded to drizzle icing over the tops of the pastries. Devon was over by the coffee pot doctoring up a couple mugs for himself and his girlfriend when he heard them approaching and turned to greet them with his usual wide smile, "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," They echoed. Chuck took Devon's place by the coffee maker and added the cream and sugar that both he and Sarah took in their coffee. Before exiting, he tried to swipe a bit of icing up on his finger, only to have his hand slapped way by his sister who was giving him her sisterly version of 'the look.'

"I'll serve them up in a minute," She protested, "Go take your girlfriend her coffee, we'll meet you in the living room as soon as I'm done here."

"Fine," Chuck teasingly grumbled and exited the kitchen to join Sarah where she stood in the living room, marveling at the sight of the tree, which seemed to have more gifts underneath than it did the night before and the now full stockings laid out on the hearth of the fireplace. Devon had stacked up wood and kindling in the fireplace but was waiting to light it until the stockings had been claimed.

Once Ellie came in with the platter of cinnamon rolls, followed by Devon with plates, napkins, and utensils, Chuck set to work distributing the stockings. Everyone turned to Sarah when they heard her gasp softly, to find her, tracing the letters sewn onto the hem of the stocking, her blue eyes misting.

"Is something wrong?" Chuck wrapped his arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"No, it's... I..." Sarah stammered for a moment, overwhelmed by emotion, "I know it's silly, but I haven't had a stocking since I was 7 years old, before my parents split."

"Oh Honey," Ellie sighed, walking over and pulling Sarah into a hug, "Well you have one now, and you will always have one."

"Thank you, Ellie," Sarah sniffed and gave the older woman a watery smile.

"Elle must really like you," Chuck smiled at her once she was seated and drying her tears, "She didn't even make a stocking for Jill and I almost proposed to her."

"Despite my brother nearly pulling a Princess Buttercup on you," Ellie smirked at her brother, "He's right; I never made one for Jill, I knew she wasn't his forever girl."

"At least I was able to get a refund on the ring," Chuck shrugged, "But that's in the past, it's stocking time now!"

They tore into their stockings removing treats, gag gifts like toys and finger traps, and even some travel bottles of lotion for the girls in their favorite scents, and sampler bottles of liquor for the guys. Devon lit the fire as the presents from under the tree started to be distributed among them. Sarah got a good laugh when she received her first gift from 'Santa.' Turns out that the siblings had a habit of labeling their gifts to each other that way to preserve some magic from their childhood. Often, they were gifts they knew the others had wanted for a while but had never gotten.

It had gotten down to the last few packages when Chuck ducked under the tree and pulled out a small box, handing it to Sarah. She looked at the tag which read, 'To: My Jenny, Love: Charlie,' and proceeded to unwrap the gift. The paper pulled away to reveal a black clamshell case. Sarah's eyes shot up to Chuck who nodded in encouragement. The hinge squeaked in protest as she lifted the lid to reveal an antique looking sliver bracelet on a satin pillow. She lifted the piece up to examine it closer and heard Ellie gasp.

"It was our mother's," Chuck explained, "Dad gave it to her the day they got married. It's supposed to be good luck."

Sarah studied the charms attached to the chain finding a pendant with the Orion constellation on it, clearly representing his father. Next was a snowflake, she assumed for Mary or Frost. There was a pink heart and a pair of blue booties, she assumed were meant to represent Ellie's and Chuck's births. "It's beautiful," She sighed, giving Chuck a wide smile. "Help me put it on?"

"There's one more thing," Chuck pulled a smaller box, ignoring the wide eyed looks he was getting from Ellie and Sarah and the near mutinous glare Devon was shooting his way. Turning the box so that it would open toward Sarah, he lifted the lid. A soft click indicated the box had fully opened.

"Oh Charlie!" Sarah gasped.


	27. Chapter 27

"Do you like it?" Chuck gave her a hopeful smile, lifting the charm from the box by its loop. The small silver treble clef dangling from his fingers.

"I love it," She grinned at him, watching as he pulled a multi-tool from his pocket, and pulling out its needle nose pliers. He gently eased open the loop of the charm until it was open enough to fit over the chain of the bracelet before closing the loop once more, examining it closely to make sure it was secure in its new home.

"May I?" He asked, unclasping the bracelet and holding it open for her.

Sarah nodded her approval as she held out her right hand, watching as he wrapped the delicate chain around her wrist before claiming her hand in his own and lifting it to press a soft kiss to her knuckles. "I love you, Jen," He whispered low so only she could hear.

"I love you too," She smiled warmly up at him, leaning in to press an appreciative kiss to his lips.

"Can I see?" Ellie requested, moving from her seat on the loveseat and perching on the couch next to Sarah who held out her hand for the older woman to see the charms better.

"I remember Chuck used to play with these charms when he was little," Ellie smiled softly at the memory, "We would all snuggle into Mom and Dad's bed to listen to a story before bed, and Chuck would spend the entire time swatting at them to see them rock back and forth as Mom or Dad read to us."

"That's so cute," Sarah smiled over at her boyfriend.

"Maybe someday your own child will play with your bracelet as your or Chuck read them their bedtime stories." Ellie grinned at her brother's girlfriend. "This bracelet is really important to us. He didn't even give it to Jill, and he was going to propose to her before she screwed that asshat of a roommate of his. I think he knew on some level she wasn't his forever girl."

"How could she be?" Chuck asked softly, wrapping his arm around Sarah's shoulder and pulling her in to lean against him, pressing a kiss to her cheek., "I'd already met my forever girl five years before."

Ellie cooed at the picture they created while Devon was still looking a bit miffed. While he had known Chuck was planning to give Sarah the bracelet, their safety deposit boxes were kept at the same bank, after all, the younger man had kinda stolen his thunder. Devon quickly reorganized his plan and hoped nothing else would cause the day to go sideways for him.

The rest of the day went as it usually did, they snacked throughout the day as they watched their favorite Christmas movies, saving their traditional Twilight Zone marathon until Morgan and Alex arrived, not that they would admit they always waited until Morgan arrived to start watching the old show. As always, Morgan arrived with a huge Tupperware container of tamales and several small tubs holding sour cream and homemade red and green salsa. Alex likewise had a box filled to the brim with bunuelos de viento and chocolate crinkle cookies courtesy of Senora Grimes.

Morgan, as he had in years past went directly into the kitchen and pulled out Ellie's crock pot. After plugging it in and setting it to high, he began to add the tamales, open end up, to the pot. He pulled out a measuring cup and drizzled them with a little water and covered the pot to allow them to steam as they watched the first episode. While Morgan was in the kitchen, Elie plated up the cookies and bunuelos and set them on the kitchen table as Chuck set up the Twilight Zone DVDs to play as soon as everyone was back in the living room. Devon also went to work putting out an ice bucket filled with beer, the hard strawberry lemonade he knew Ellie enjoyed, as well as grape, cola, and lemon-lime sodas.

This routine was old hat to everyone but Sarah and Alex, who watched the central four that tied their ragtag family together set up to continue their Christmas celebration. Soon, Morgan emerged from the kitchen announcing that the tamales should be warmed up in about an hour, and the family converged on the living room. Devon and Ellie claimed the love seat, Chuck and Sarah took the couch, and Morgan and Alex sat on some pillows on the floor. Chuck, who had the remote for the entertainment center started the DVDs and turned on the surround sound as the opening monologue began.

After the first episode ended, Morgan checked on the tamales, adding a little more water to keep them from drying out as they continued to warm up and returned to the living room, pausing to grab a grape soda for himself and one of the hard lemonades for Alex. Chuck and Devon had claimed beers for themselves and a couple hard lemonades for their ladies, as well. Once everyone was settled back in the living room, they resumed their marathon.

As the afternoon ebbed into evening, the three couples were relaxed, sated with family and food and drink. The sun had just set as Morgan and Alex thanked their hosts and departed to make their way home for the night. Chuck and Sarah offered to clean up the kitchen since Ellie and Devon had made and cleaned up after breakfast that morning. Ellie was comfortably snuggled into Devon on the love seat, content and reveling in another enjoyable Christmas spent with their friends and family.

Devon looked through the pass-through, from his seat, to make sure Chuck and Sarah were still occupied before getting Ellie's attention. "Babe, let's take a walk."

Ellie eyed him curiously and shrugged, slowly standing and stretching before slipping her feet into her shoes and grabbing her coat to ward of the cool winter air. Hand-in-hand she and Devon made their way our of Echo Park and strolled down a few of the neighboring streets, taking in the decorated homes along the way. Eventually, they made their way back home and entered the courtyard where strings of fairly lights had been strung up from the awnings of the second floor of the building. Making the whole area around the fountain look magical.

As they got to the fountain, Devon stopped, squeezing Ellie's hand gently in a silent request for her to stop as well. Again, Ellie's curiosity was piqued.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly, "You've been a little off all day."

"Just had something on my mind," Devon shrugged, "Truth be told, I was hoping to take care of it earlier in the day, but I guess it's true what they say, 'Man plans, and God laughs.'"

Ellie's brows furrowed in confusion as she waited for Devon to continue.

"Elle, we've been together a while now," He turned to face her and took a deep breath to try to calm his nerves, not noticing the curtains in their living room flutter as two sets of eyes peered around the drapes. "And it's been awesome. I felt drawn to you from the moment we first met in medical school, and every day that hold you have on me grows stronger. It kinda makes me wonder in what other ways we might someday grow." He not so subtly grazed their joined hands over her lower abdomen and grinned at the dreamy smile that played across his girlfriend's lips. "I want a future with you, a family, and I hope you do too." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small grey box. Opening it, he withdrew a small item from inside and held it up so that the lights above them could set it sparkling.

Ellie's hand rose to her lips, tears glimmering in her eyes, as she gasped at what Devon was presenting to her.

"My great-granny gave me this ring a few days before she died," He explained, "Told me to give it to you when the time was right. We'd only been together a few months by then and she already knew you were it for me. I've had it in my safety deposit box ever since. I spoke to Chuck after Thanksgiving when we were on our way to the bank to grab your mother's bracelet and this," He wiggled the small gold time in his fingers, making the inset jewels twinkle in the low light, "He is, after all, the man in your family since your dad took off. I know you are your own person and we don't need anyone's permission, but I at least wanted his support and he gave me his blessing."

Ellie watched in awe as Devon lowered himself to one knee there by the fountain, his great-granny's ring securely held between the thumb and forefinger of his hand as his other held her left hand, running his fingers over her knuckles as he smiled up at her, "Eleanor Faye Bartowski, would you do me the great honor of being my wife?"

Ellie's smile was radiant as she nodded her head emphatically. "Oh my God, yes! Devon, yes, I will marry you."

"Awesome," Devon grinned as he slid the ring over her fourth finger and stood to his feet. Wrapping his fiancée in his arms, he lowered his lips to hers in a soft, celebratory kiss that was rapidly growing more passionate.

The newly engaged couple were so wrapped up in each other that they barely registered the faint whoop and cheer that emanated from the apartment behind them. A moment later Chuck, who was holding an overnight bag, and Sarah joined them in the courtyard. Chuck handed the bag to Sarah before pulling his sister in for a Bartowski hug before turning to Devon and shaking his hand. "We booked you a room at the Grand Ambassador." When Ellie eyed the bag suspiciously, "Don't worry, Sarah packed the bag, there are certain items of clothing a brother does not need to know his sister owns."

"Thanks, Bro," Devon clapped Chuck on the back before his grin widened, "Hey pretty soon I'll mean that literally."

"Congratulations," Sarah smiled at the woman who was rapidly becoming her best friend, "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks," Ellie beamed, wiping the happy tears from her eyes as Sarah hugged Devon and handed him the bag.

"The room is already paid for," Chuck assured them, "Go have some fun… just don't tell me about it in the morning."

"You can tell me though," Sarah gave Ellie a cheeky grin, which caused everyone but Chuck, who grimaced at the thought, to laugh.

"We'd better head out then, Babe," Devon wrapped her newly adorned left hand in his right, "We have a lot to celebrate."

"Okay," Ellie nodded, "Thank you Chuck."

"It was nothing," Chuck shrugged, "I think we all know if it wasn't for my failure to launch, this day would have come much sooner."

"Well it all works out in the end," Ellie gave her brother a reassuring smile, "Who knows, maybe in another few years it will be your turn."

Chuck turned and gave Sarah an adoring smile, "I hope so."

"Me too," Sarah spoke softly, returning his smile.

After one last round of hugs and kisses, Devon and Ellie took off to celebrate their engagement as Chuck and Sarah made their way into the apartment once more.

"Do you really want that in a few years?" Chuck asked, pulling Sarah down on the couch with him to cuddle.

"No," Sarah shook her head, but before the dejected look fully settled on Chuck's face. "In a few years, I want to be past that point. If we are able to get those glasses up and running quickly and can get your folks and their friend home safe again, we can focus on finding Ryker and making it so he's no longer a danger to Molly so all our family can finally be together and safe. Optimistically, I'd like to have that all done by next Christmas. Married by the Christmas after that, and maybe working on giving Molly a little brother or sister the year after that." She sighed, "Realistically, it could be years before it's safe enough to bring Molly home."

"Let's just focus on the optimistic plan," Chuck kissed her head, "And I think making you and Molly Bartowskis, sooner rather than later, is a great plan. One I can really get on board with."

"Sarah Bartowski…" She mused, "I like it."

"I was thinking more Jenny Bartowski, at least when we're at home" Chuck countered, "And Sarah Bartowski at work. That is, unless the company has an objection to that… how would that work?"

"I would just have to submit some forms and a copy of our marriage license to have them update their records," Sarah shrugged, "But I'd probably retire instead."

"No!" Chuck blushed at how emphatic his reaction was, and the look Sarah shot him, "I mean, I don't want you have to give up your career just so we can have a family. Yeah, my parents didn't really navigate the whole raising a family while working for the CIA thing the best, but we aren't our parents. I know I certainly don't plan on turning Morgan into some crazy evil dude straight out of an Ian Flemming novel. If you want to keep working for the CIA, you can still work for the CIA. Personally, I'm kinda stuck until the data in my head is no longer relevant or they let me modify the override glasses - after we fix Hartley, of course – to remove my intersect. Even then, they made it pretty clear they would still like me as an analyst, or a recruiter."

"We can cross that bridge when we get to it," Sarah assured him, snuggling in closer to him, "The CIA is the only career I've ever known, and I only joined to avoid being arrested. I do know that once Molly is safe and can come home to us, I don't want to go on active missions anymore. It's too dangerous and those missions have a way of following your home. Usually when an agent takes a step back from being an active field agent, they will either teach at the farm, become an embassy attaché, and some will do recruiting.

"After what Fleming pulled, he's likely to be out on his ass," She pointed out, "They'll be looking to replace him, and by 'they' I mean both Stanford and the CIA. It's entirely possible that if the timing works out, and you want to pursue grad school, we could be his replacement. We could recruit from a peer level, then if Stanford's offer for tenure is still good, from a faculty or mentor level. But like I said, that's a bridge with a crossing far in the distance."

"It would be safer," Chuck mused, "And would give us at least a semblance of a 'normal' life, whatever that is, although I doubt we'll ever really be 'normal.'" He chuckled, "I have to admit it's tempting, and perhaps something we should consider for when the time comes. But you're right, the time to make that decision is still a ways off."

They sat silent for a moment before Chuck snickered, "Of course, all that is dependent on whether or not Ellie kills me when she finds out who I've actually been working for all these months."

"True," Sarah chuckled, "Let's just take all of this one step at a time. Starting with this," She leaned up and kissed him, "Then finding an office space, and a place to live. One place, not two places, I've already decided we're going to live together… for the safety and protection of the intersect, of course."

"Oh, right, of course," Chuck played along, a goofy grin on his face as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Then once we're settled, we can broach the subject with Ellie and Devon, see if there is any way Ellie can help us," Sarah continued.

"Pray, she doesn't kill one or both of us," Chuck added, "Then contact mom, fix Uncle Hartley, make it safe for Molly, then see where our future takes us."

"Maybe with a few pieces of new jewelry thrown in here and there," Sarah teased him.

"Yes, yes, I know, I get it" He playfully huffed, "You want to tie me down and have your way with me."

"Please, I can do that now," Sarah scoffed, "But I think we both felt the same sense of rightness when we wore those rings in Hungary. It may have been pretend, back there, but we both know that one day, we'll be for keeps."

"Wow, a pop culture reference," Chuck whistled, "I'm impressed."

"Chuck?" Sarah reached out and gently turned his head toward her.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and kiss me." She smiled up at him.

Chuck didn't have to be told twice and promptly lowered his head to capture his lips in a sensual kiss. One that grew more passionate by the minute, and it wasn't long until they were completely wrapped up in each other. Sarah had shifted to straddle his lap as their make out session continued, but when Chuck felt her hands start drifting toward the button of his jeans, he quickly stood, using his hands to encourage Sarah to wrap her legs around his waist as he carried her into their room. "The bed is much more comfortable," Was all the explanation he gave.


	28. Chapter 28

Ellie and Devon weren't back from the hotel by the time Chuck and Sarah had to leave to meet up with Casey and the real estate agent to start looking at the CIA/NSA approved offices for their new covers. The first few looked nice and could meet their needs suitably, one was even near the BuyMore Plaza which gave them easy access to not only BuyMore, but Large Mart, and Lou's. Of course, the downside was that if Morgan discovered that Chuck's new office was so close to BuyMore, he would be over at the office constantly, so after some discussion, they decided to pass on that location.

After stopping for lunch, they had one more property to look at. The real estate agent, Chelsea, was a woman about Chuck and Sarah's age with brunette hair that was cut in a cute pixie cut with big green eyes, tan skin, and soft curves, met them at the office space. Sarah had noticed how much attention from the fairer sex that Chuck seemed to attract to himself with his kind eyes, wide smile, and congenial nature, not that he noticed, but why did they always seem to be brunettes?

"So," Chelsea's voice cut through Sarah's thoughts, "Like the others, this space meets all your requirements from security, as you saw there is a fully staffed security desk; all visitors must check in before being allowed to pass beyond the lobby. There is also a secure parking garage underground with private tenant entrance that requires keycard access."

They rode up to the third-floor office that had a "for lease" sign in the front window. "Each office is fully customizable to your needs, this one is currently configured with a small reception area, private offices, a conference room and lounge, as well as a large area that can be used for storage."

"When you say fully customizable, does that include allowing us to install stronger security?" Casey inquired, looking around the space, making mental notes of what measures to implement where.

Chelsea looked confused as to why such a question was being asked. She had not been available that morning to meet with them, so one of her colleagues had done the showings. The other agent had neglected to pass on that particular concern when he'd handed the file for the founding members of Carmichael CyberSecurity over to her after lunch.

"Sorry, we're a cybersecurity start up," Chuck explained, "So, we require stronger security than the usual business."

"I can assure you the security here is top notch, there have not been any security breaches or issues here, aside from the occasional trespasser who never got past the security desk, since the days that Ronald Reagan had the building built." Chelsea reported.

"I'm sorry, did you just say Ronald Reagan used to own this building?" Chuck checked, noticing the subtle widening of Casey's eyes upon hearing his hero's name.

"Until the day he died," Chelsea nodded, "It's technically still owned by the Reagan family but is managed by their estate. Why, is that a problem?"

"No," Chuck shot a sly look at his teammate, whose posture had already stiffened to full military posture, "I don't think that's going to be an issue, at all."

Sarah caught her boyfriend's eyes as they both tried to hold in the snickers so as to not offend Casey… at least until the real estate agent could leave and they could taunt him mercilessly. They continued to tour the space, found the offices to be an acceptable size for each of them with enough space to add some cubicles if they needed to add some auxiliary support. The large back room gave them enough space to create a server room to support the high volume of data they would need on a daily bases, build a small armory that satisfied Casey, as well as a couple holding cells and a research and medical lab that would come in handy, assuming Ellie and Awesome were willing to lend their services as needed.

Chelsea gave them a moment more to look around before speaking again, "There is a freight elevator tucked into the alcove just past suite 330, for when you need it." She waited a moment for the three prospective tenants to finish looking around. "So, what do you think?"

"We saw several great properties today," Chuck hedged, "Can you give us the night to discuss it and we can call you in the morning with our choice."

"Sounds good," Chelsea nodded, I'll show you out."

They boarded the elevator to descend to the lobby and Chelsea walked them to the doors, offering her hand to each of the partners in turn. "I look forward to hearing from you, Mr. Casey, Miss Walker, Mr. Carmichael."

"Thank you for taking the time to show us around," Chuck gave her a smile which caused a slight blush to rise to the real estate agent's cheeks.

"The pleasure is all mine," Chelsea practically cooed, "I'll talk to you later?"

"Later then," Chuck nodded before gently placing his hand at the small of Sarah's back and guiding her back to their rental car, Casey following close by.

"You know, you could turn the charm down from 11," Sarah huffed with a slight eye roll, "Take it down some where in the five to seven range, at least."

They heard the soft grunted chuckle of their partner and pointedly ignored him.

"And what was with her," Sarah continued, "Talk about unprofessional, giving your flirty eyes, every time I had my head turned, as if I couldn't see."

"She was not flirting with me," Chuck protested, "And even if she was, it would do no good, I already have the best gal, woman, in the world, why would I need anyone else?"

"Shoulda gotten her a ring Carmichael," Casey mocked, "A pretty bracelet won't scare away the vultures."

"Shut up, Casey," Sarah sniped.

"And what vultures?" Chuck challenged the older man, "There are no vultures. Trust me, no one is interested in some skinny nerd. Hell, I'm surprised Sarah even gave me the time of day in high school."

"Oh please," Sarah rolled her eyes, "Girls flirt with you _all_ the time. Even back then, did you even see the looks that half the woodwinds used to give you? You were hot stuff even back then. You're even more handsome and charming now, you forget, we had to watch you before our orders came down to take you to Washington for training. At least twice," She saw Casey hold up three fingers in her periphery, "Okay maybe three times a day some girl or another would come in to flirt with you. I mean seriously, no one is that big of a klutz, there is no way that Lou girl's blackberry could go on the fritz on a near weekly basis!"

"How did Lou get involve in this?" Chuck's eyes widened.

"She was wanting to make a sandwich with your sausage," Casey grunted.

"You know, it's really disturbing how many food analogies for sex you can come up with, Casey," Chuck grumbled.

"Don't make it not true," Casey shrugged, "I'm parked over there. You two go finish your little lovers spat elsewhere, but make sure you turn off the surveillance when you get back to Bartowski's place. The last thing I need to hear is you popping his cork." Casey smirked to himself at the horrified expressions on his partners' faces as he strolled away toward the Crown Vic he'd rented. His highly modified '85 model was still being shipped over.

With a sigh, Chuck turned to face Sarah once again, taking her hands in his, his left thumb running over the back of her wrist where his mother's charm bracelet, with the new treble clef charm attached, sat. Sarah refused to take it off except to shower. "Jen, why is this even an issue?" He asked quietly, ducking his head until his forehead rested against hers, "I only have eyes for you. They can flirt all they want, but it will do them no good, because no girl in the 'verse can compare to my Jenny."

"You could at least try to discourage them," Sarah pouted.

"I'll do my best, okay?" He nudged her head with is to get her to tilt her face up until he could press a soft kiss to her lips. "I'm getting better at reading body language since our class with Roan, but I still sometimes miss the tells."

"Fine," She grumbled, giving into the soft kisses and nibbles her boyfriend was playing across her lips and jaw.

"Let's just go home," Chuck suggested, "We can talk to Casey about the offices later, right now I'm more interested in your cork popping abilities."

Sarah couldn't help the giggle that rose from her throat when he gave her his suggestive eyebrow dance. "Just get in the car, you big nerd."

The mood sufficiently lightened, they headed back to Echo Park. Upon arriving home, they greeted Devon and Ellie who were lounging in the living room watching Grey's Anatomy and made their way back to their room. Chuck watched in amusement as Sarah, a devious smile on her lips, deactivated the video bugs monitoring the door and window as well as all but one of the audio bugs.

"Can't let him miss all the fun," She said with a wink before raising her voice, "Oh God, Charlie Baby! Yes, right there! You feel so good!"

Chuck had to bite his knuckle to keep from laughing at her antics but couldn't help himself when she gave him a salacious wink, he had to join in on taunting their partner. "Jenny," He moaned, "You're so… I'm so close, I'm gonna… pop my cork in you!"

They heard a loud grunt of, "Bartowski!" Echo from across the courtyard, sending them into fits of laughter before they turned off the audio bug, locked the door, and indulged in little real play time themselves.

* * *

An hour or so later, they emerged from their room to see Ellie and Devon staring at them wide-eyed.

"What?" Chuck asked barely containing his grin.

"Are you seriously asking us, 'what?!" Ellie looked at her brother and his girlfriend in shock, "What was all that?"

"Seriously, Bro," Devon nodded, "These walls are like super thin. I mean congratulations on all you got going on in there, but I think John even heard you across the courtyard."

"He was supposed to," Chuck snickered, earning him a dual surprised look from his sister and brother-in-law-to-be.

"Didn't know you were into that kinda thing," Devon mused, "That's kinda awesome."

"Devon!" Ellie gave her fiancé a disgusted look, "That's my little brother!"

"Well…" Sarah drew out with a sly smile.

"Ugh!" Ellie huffed.

"Elle, we don't do that," Chuck rolled his eyes, "Casey was messing with us earlier and made some remark about Sarah popping my cork, he has a thing about making sexual quips using food… don't want to know why, to each his own." They all shuddered at the thought. "Anyway, when we got home, we opened our window a bit and started pulling a 'When Harry Met Sally,' routine."

"That makes sense," Devon nodded, "You two are usually much quieter than that," At the looks he received from them, he backtracked, "Not that I was trying to listen in, but like I said, thin walls."

"Uh huh," Ellie arched her eyebrow at him.

"And on that note," Chuck's eyes widened, "We have to go. We have some business to finish with Casey… actual business." He shared a look with Sarah, "…assuming he doesn't kill us for our little stunt earlier."

"Don't worry sweetheart," Sarah murmured to him as they made their way out the door, "Between your tranqs and my knives, we should be able to take him."

"That's a pleasant thought," Chuck groaned before knocking on Casey's door.

The man himself opened up the door, glaring daggers at his younger partners, "I thought I told you to disable all the bugs!"

"Oops, must've missed one," Sarah gave him an innocent shrug, "Sorry, not sorry, you had to hear all that, because, wow!"

Chuck and Sarah chuckled as Casey let out a growling groan and stalked off toward his living room, not waiting for them to follow. Wanting to get on with business, they shifted to a more professional tone as they discussed the various merits of the properties they'd viewed. In the end, they wound up with the Ronald Reagan Building, much to Casey's delight, even when they didn't consider that little factoid, it already had some established offices and the back space was moldable to their needs. Once they came to an agreement, Chuck fished his phone out of his pocket and found the contact info for Chelsea and pressing the call button.

"Chelsea? This is Charles Carmichael," He gave a small smile, as he had been taught to do when on the phone with a professional contact, "We've discussed it and we've decided to take the last space you showed us in the Reagan building… We already have a contractor and architect on retainer for the job, but thank you for the offer… Just let me know when the contract is ready to sign, and we'll come down to your office to take care of it." He listened a moment longer before his smile slipped a little, "Well that's a very kind invitation, Chelsea, but I'm afraid I'm not available… No, no, I'm sorry I wasn't clear, I mean I'm not available romantically. I'm very, very taken…" He turned to look directly at Sarah, "If you must know, her name is Jenny and she is the most amazing, beautiful, wonderful woman I've ever met. She's pretty much 'it' for me."

Sarah mouthed 'I love you' at him, a gestured he repeated back to her as Casey rolled his eyes and let out a disgusted grunt.

"It's quite alright," Chuck nodded, "Uh huh, uh huh, okay, yeah right, I understand." With that, he hung up.

"Don't tell me you lost us the office space," Casey grunted, "You couldn't have just suffered through one coffee meeting or dinner?"

"To what end?" Chuck quirked his eyebrow at the older man, "She understood, once I explained it to her. She said she'll have the contracts drawn up and ready for us to sign by 10 tomorrow morning."

Casey stared at the younger man, dumbfounded.

"If there's nothing else, we are supposed to be meeting up with Ellie and Devon to celebrate their engagement." Chuck smiled at the older man as he led Sarah out the door and over to their apartment to change for dinner and dancing.


	29. Chapter 29

Before the ink was dry on the lease contract, Sarah and Casey were on the horn with their superiors coordinating the equipment and modifications needed for their office space. Within the span of two weeks, the office was ready to be moved in. Under the close supervision of Casey, the armory was stocked to his exacting standards and requirements for the space. Sarah and Chuck oversaw the office furniture and equipment. Sarah had convinced Casey to let Chuck have free reign on the computing systems they would be using. With the older man's grudging grunt of acceptance, they both gave Chuck the contact information for their respective agencies' tech specialists.

Neither Sarah nor Casey were terribly surprised when Chuck proceeded to run rings around the tech specialists, pressing them until he was able to get them to acquire technology at a level just as exacting as Casey when it came to armament. The medical and research lab had been stocked with the basics, but they had agreed unanimously to wait to do more until they were able to get Ellie on board so that she could customize what would essentially be 'her' space in the office. All that was left was to brief Ellie, and by extension Awesome, on what all was going on.

"Are you ready to go?" Sarah asked, leaning against the door frame of Chuck's office.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Chuck sighed, "I wonder if this is how convicts of death row feel before walking the green mile."

"I think you are being just a bit dramatic," Sarah rolled her eyes, "Don't forget to bring the NDA's"

"They're already in my bag and I think you're not being dramatic enough," Chuck countered, pushing back from his desk and pulling on his suit jacket before following her out of the office and to the underground parking where her Porsche sat waiting for them. It had been delivered the previous week, within a few days of Casey's precious Crown Vic.

* * *

The ride back to Echo Park was both the longest and shortest ride Chuck thought he'd ever taken in his life. Sarah gave him a supportive smile as she put the car into 'park.' As soon as they were both out of the car, she took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze as they made their way back to the apartment where they still lived, at least for a little while longer. They'd already found a condo not too far from Echo Park, but like with the office, had to wait for the CIA to set up the specialized security and specs required of an agent's domicile before they moved in. They were told the condo would be move-in ready by the end of the following week and had already started packing up Chuck's room. His walls, shelves and bookcases were all bare now, and boxes neatly labeled and stacked were piling up against the wall. The majority of his, and her, clothes had also been packed away, leaving only what they would need to get through the week.

So much had changed in Chuck's life since his 28th birthday, it was understandable that his mind would drift over it all from time to time as it did now, only to be brought back to sharp focus the moment they stepped through the threshold of his sister's apartment.

Ellie looked up from where she was setting the table for dinner and gave them a warm smile, "Good timing, I'm just finishing up setting dinner out, Devon will be home in a minute and then we can eat."

"Sounds good Elle," Chuck nodded before he and Sarah hung up their coats her purse and his messenger bag and continued down the hall to their room, opting to take the few minutes they had to change into something comfortable. If they were going to have an uncomfortable conversation with his sister, they wanted to at least be comfortable when doing it.

They'd just emerged, Chuck in a long-sleeved forest green Henley, jeans, and his ever-present chucks. Sarah had chosen a comfortable blue sweater that was just a few shades darker than her eyes, a pair of black skinny jeans, and silver ballet flats. Ellie was lighting candles on the table as she informed them that Devon had just got home and was changing really quick.

"What's for dinner Ellie?" Sarah asked, taking her seat, "It smells delicious!"

"I was wanting some comfort food, so I made up some meat lasagna," Ellie smiled at her before turning toward her brother, "Chuck, could you grab the bottle of Cab from the rack, please?"

"Sure thing, sis," Chuck attempted to affect a casual air as he went in and grabbed the bottle of red wine from the small rack in the kitchen. Devon entered the dining room, wearing a UCLA sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers, just as Chuck handed the wine to his sister.

"Now that everyone's here, let's eat!" Ellie declared, taking her seat diagonal from Devon and Chuck who sat at the head and foot of the table and across from Sarah.

The simple dinner of lasagna and salad was delicious and satisfying as it always was, the wine the perfect pairing for the pasta dish. Once dinner was eaten and the leftovers packed away in the fridge, it was time for Chuck and Sarah to make their move. Stopping briefly to grab a packet of papers from Chuck's bag, they took a seat in the living room and got the older couple's attention.

"Hey Ellie, can Sarah and I talk to you and Devon for a minute?" Chuck asked, nodding to the TV, which was on, playing a rerun of ER.

"Yeah, sure," Ellie nodded, picking up the remote and turning off the television, setting it back on the coffee table before turning her attention to the younger couple, "Is something wrong? Is Sarah…"

"No, nothing like that," Sarah shook her head aware of where Ellie was going with her inquiry, having caught the older woman's eyes flick to her stomach momentarily. "But still important."

Feeling Sarah giving his hand a squeeze of support, Chuck took a deep breath, met his sister and future brother-in-law's eyes, "Ellie, Devon, we haven't been completely honest with you."

Ellie gasped, hands flying to her mouth, "Oh my God, you eloped when you were back East, didn't you?"

"We…" He suddenly registered what his sister had said, "Wha… Ellie, no. We're not there yet, you've had nothing but weddings on the brain since Devon put that, admittedly impressive, rock on your finger."

"Chuck," Sarah gave him a meaningful look.

"Right, like I was saying, there have been some things going on in my life that we've been keeping from you," Chuck continued, "And before I tell you everything, I need you to sign theses non-disclosure agreements."

"Non-disclosure agreements?" Ellie gave him a skeptical look, "I highly doubt whatever has been going on with you, Little Brother, is a matter of national security."

"Actually Elle," Chuck looked sheepish, "It is, please sign the papers, both of you, and hear us out."

Ellie still wasn't convinced it wasn't some elaborate prank her brother was trying to pull, but decided to humor him anyhow, taking the pen Sarah had offered and looking over the paperwork before signing it. It looked official-ish, but she knew how good her brother was with all things computer related and had no doubt he could had created a realistic looking document using a template from some legal site or another. She handed the pen to Devon who also signed and pushed the papers back toward Chuck and Sarah, the latter of whom stood and placed the paperwork in Chuck's bag before taking her place back at his side, holding his hand. Ellie saw a them look at each other, communicating something silently before her younger brother took a deep breath and proceeded to tell her what all had been going on in his life.

It sounded like something straight out of his comic books. According to Chuck, he's accidentally downloaded some kind of governmental data base that their father, of all people, had at least partially designed. His girlfriend, his _real_ girlfriend he'd been sure to stress to both herself and Devon, was a CIA agent and their new business partner was not only a Colonel in the Marines, but an agent with the NSA. The 'company' that had hired them and taken them back east to familiarize them with their server was none other than the intelligence community of their nation, and that his training had actually been an abridged version of a combined CIA and Marine Force Recon training, which Sarah informed them with great pride, he'd passed with flying colors.

Looking back, she could recognize the physical results of the training over the past few months. His slim frame was broader, but no so much to be obvious, the little bit of baby fat he had retained thanks to his marathon gaming and junk food binge sessions he used to have with Morgan had faded away to be replaced with more firm muscle that she was able to feel when she hugged him. Now that she thought of it, she could remember the first few times he hugged her after returning for Thanksgiving were careful, as if he was unsure of his strength and didn't want to hurt her.

They'd gone on to tell the about the mission they'd just returned from. It came as a shock to her that not only had they not been in DC as she'd believed between Thanksgiving and Christmas but had been in Eastern Europe. On top of that, apparently the mission they had been sent on had revealed more about their family history. It turns out that the wedding they were supposed to crash in order to keep tabs on an arms dealer was the actual wedding of their childhood friend Vivian, who was herself a MI:6 agent who was now married to another MI:6 agent who she'd met while undercover in her father's criminal organization.

She stared at her brother and his girlfriend as they explained what they'd learned about why her mother and then father disappeared never to be heard from again. How, against his better judgement, their father had uploaded a program into their honorary uncle's head in the false belief that the data would eventually degrade and be rendered unusable. Sadly, the programming did the opposite of what they'd expected and basically infiltrated their Uncle Hartley's brain, turning him into a sociopathic Russian mobster, with their mother, his handler, in the guise of his right-hand man. They'd gone on to explain how learning all this had caused them to change their mission to include trying to remove the programming from Hartley's brain in the hopes of being able to disband his network of weapons dealers, baddies, and thugs, as well as free their parents to be able to come home, safely.

"Which brings us to why, at least in part, we are telling you all this," Chuck gave his sister a small smile. "Uncle Hartley was the neurologist on their team, Dad came up with the programming, but Hartley helped him figure out how to get it to be able to implant in the brain. I have the original data packets from the upload they'd put in Hartley's brain to change him into Volkoff, but no matter what I do, I can't seem to get it to work with any success.

"The data override part of the program is correct, so far as my tests have shown me," Chuck sighed, "But I just can't figure out how to get my new data packet to be absorbed into the brain. That's where I'm hoping you'll come in, I need your help with this."

Ellie didn't know what to say, looking between her brother and his girlfriend, dumbfounded, for several long minutes. "So, let me get this straight," She sighed and rubbed her temple as if trying to stave off the beginnings of a migraine, "You opened a suspicious email from a man you have neither seen nor spoken to since he got you kicked out of school and slept with your perspective fiancée. Not only that, but you activated the program he'd attached to said email, which resulted in you downloading a database containing all the intelligence our government has collected since the twin towers fell, into your head," Her voice was growing louder and angrier with every statement she made, Chuck knew this was not likely to end well for him. "Then proceeded to stop a freaking bomb from exploding, allowed yourself to be conscripted to the CIA and NSA, submitted to elite-level training… Dear God, are you armed?"

Chuck and Sarah both nodded sheepishly, "In my defense," Chuck hedged, "I only carry a tranq pistol. Sarah does carry a live weapon, but we can assure you that they are both locked away safely in a lock box that is secured with a biometric lock and will only open to one of our fingerprints."

"That doesn't make it better!" Ellie exclaimed, "You know how I feel about weapons in my house!"

"I'm sorry, Elle," Chuck gave her a small shrug, "It can't be helped, but the lock box and any armament we own or have been issued by the agencies will go with us next week when we move out."

"Charles Irving Bartowski, I don't think you fully grasp the seriousness of the situation you are in," Ellie scolded.

"No, I fully understand the situation," Chuck shook his head, "Did it scare me at first? Of course it did. Does it still scare me? Yeah, but it also means I'm able, in my own small way, to protect the ones that I love. I understand that what I am doing is dangerous, but I'm proud of what I'm doing, isn't that what you've always wanted for me?"

"What I wanted was for you to achieve your dreams," Ellie huffed, "Preferably behind a desk in an office where you are safe from all the mobsters, oligarchs, and general baddies of this world."

"Elle, I appreciate that you are worried for me," Chuck tried to soothe her, "But I'm not alone in this."

"You're not the only one with a vested interest in his safety," Sarah added before sending an adoring look at Chuck, "I have just as much, if not more to lose. I love him, with all my heart. If you lose him, you'll grieve his loss for a while, but eventually you and Devon will be able to move forward, have a family. If I lose him, I lose everything. He's the only man I could ever imagine having a future with. I never even imagined being able to have a real life until I met him. I lost that dream when we lost touch with each other, but now that we found each other again, my hope has been restored. I share your desire to see him safe. If I had my way, I'd wrap him in bubble wrap and never let him leave the house, but I've seen him in action. He is really good at what he does; he can, and has, honestly helped people. Do you have any idea how many lives he saved by disabling that bomb? Not only did he save the people attending the conference, but likely everyone in that hotel and building within even a few blocks of there."

"Sis, I'm not doing anything more than Mom and Dad have done," Chuck pointed out.

"Just because that's what they chose to do over actually being with their family, doesn't mean you need to do it too!" Ellie yelled.

"Mom didn't expect to be gone for 20 years, Elle!" Chuck shot back, "She thought it would be a quick trip, just like all her other 'business trips' had always been up until that point. It's not her fault that the program didn't disengage, even when she tried to activate the other disabling protocols. Her only choice to keep the world as safe as she could was to stay with Hartley and to what she could to keep him in check."

Ellie harrumphed at her brother's assessment of their mother's actions. "If dad hadn't created that stupid thing, it wouldn't have been an issue."

"Dad created that 'stupid thing' with the goal of helping people," Chuck countered, "It was meant to be a learning tool with possible applications in treating memory loss due to dementia, Alzheimer's, or even traumatic brain injury. He was trying to do a good thing, but the government got wind of it and offered to help fund his research. That's how he and Mom met; she was sent to be his handler and they eventually fell in love with each other, which was a good thing because, otherwise, we would not exist. Unfortunately, over the course of the project, the government began to pervert his original goals until it became the Agent X project which was the precursor for the Intersect that is now in my head."

Ellie considered what her brother had said for a moment, "So, theoretically, if I were to help you with 'fixing' Uncle Hartley; Mom, Dad, and he could all come home?"

"Along with Vivey and her husband Cole, yes," Chuck nodded.

"That also means that we could eventually get that thing out of your head as well," She postulated.

"In theory, yes," Chuck confirmed, "But that doesn't necessarily mean I'll quit working with the CIA and NSA. I like what I do, and like Sarah said, I'm good at it, like really good. Although considering I was born from the union of a company scientist and a spy, it's kind of a foregone conclusion that one of us would have an aptitude for it. You'd be surprised how much nepotism there is in the intelligence community, and not just in the United States. Uncle Hartley was MI:6, a real James Bond type if what I've read is to be believed, and transferred to MI:5, Vivey is MI:6 as is her new husband."

"We won't be field active forever either," Sarah pointed out, "We've discussed what our future might look like, what we want it to look like, and we agree that we want that future to include children. Some field agents choose to stay field active after having kids, but I for one don't want to."

"And I would rather step back from field service at that point as well," Chuck added, "Sarah's dad basically took her and ran when she was too little to understand that he wasn't the parent she should have been with after her parents' divorce. Although, if he hadn't, we might not have met."

"I don't know about that," Sarah hedged, "You forget, I was born in Santa Barbara, and I'm fairly sure there was a band from there at the band competition we met at."

"Point," Chuck acknowledged before turning back to his sister, "And we had both our parents leave us. Neither of us want to do that to our kids. We are more than happy to shift into other roles within the company, however that might look."

"Doing what?" Ellie looked between them.

"Well, with Chuck's skills he could investigate cybercrime, yeah I know that's kinda what we are setting up to do now, but the difference would be that right now we can still be called out into the field. He could also work on the Intersect project from the R & D side, kind of like your father did, or take over for Fleming identifying potential candidates for the project. As for me, I could be a recruiter, teach at the farm, or follow the path I'm sure the director was slowly grooming me for, which involved leadership and administration, going from Special Agent In Charge of a team or Chief of Station, to potentially advancing to the level of deputy director or director of the whole agency."

"And none of that would require you to be field active?" Ellie pressed.

"That would be correct," Chuck affirmed while Sarah nodded beside him.

"They why don't you do that now?" She demanded.

"Well, we want to try to undo the damage and hopefully reduce the impact the Agent X program has done to Hartley, and by extension the global community." Chuck reminded his sister, "There are also a few other lose ends that need to be tied up which require us to stay field active in order to do so."

"Like what?" Ellie looked at the pair, clearly not believing they'd actually remove themselves from the field.

"I can't say," Sarah shook her head, "It's classified and tied to a prior mission that went sideways in one of the worst ways."

"More classified than what was done to my brother?"

"Not exactly," Sarah shook her head, "Technically, your brother's situation is above top secret, we were only allowed to read you in because before Thanksgiving he suggested you be the one added to the team, even convinced them to bring Devon on as an additional medical liaison incase one of us or someone from the LA field office are injured on the job."

"Before Thanksgiving?" She looked to her brother, "So you wanted to involve me in all this _before_ you ran into mom and reconnected with Dad?"

"Yes," Chuck confirmed, "You see, they have never had someone successfully download the full Intersect data base. What is in Uncle Hartley's head is less than 5% of the data I downloaded. They are unclear as to what impact, if any at all, there is on the human brain from downloading the whole thing."

"So, what you are saying," A slightly evil smile began to spread on Ellie's face, "Is that you convinced the powers that be, to hire me to essentially play with your brain?"

"More monitor me and alert them of anything that may cause concern to my overall mental or physical health," Chuck corrected, "Who knows maybe you'll be able to locate that screw you constantly insist is loose up there. So, what do you think, Elle? Are you interested?"

"If I do this, if we do this, are we locked in forever?" Ellie looked between Chuck and Sarah.

"That would depend on what you and your lawyers can negotiate for you," Sarah shrugged, "Some people start with a five- or ten-year contract and reevaluate if they want to stay after it's expiration. Some negotiate to only stay as long as the project they are working on is ongoing."

"But wouldn't that second one have the potential for them to extend the contractor's project and employment indefinitely?" Devon pointed out.

"That is a possibility," Sarah gave them an embarrassed smile, "Which is why I'd advise starting with a five-year contract as a consultant, with the proviso that you'll only work on and with anything pertaining to your brother's health and possibly amend it to include his research if you chose to at a later time."

"Can we think about it?" Ellie hedged.

"Would seeing where you'd be working help you make up your mind?" Chuck suggested.

* * *

"So, what do you think?" Chuck asked, opening the double doors to the medical bay and lab that sat in the rear portion of his office suite.

"It's kind of barren," Ellie mused, taking in the treatment and recovery suites as well as the connected lab area. Devon was also casting an appreciative look around, cataloging what they already had and making a mental list of what else would be helpful to have on hand.

"That was intentional," Chuck explained, "I didn't want them to bring in a bunch of equipment only to have you or Devon say it isn't needed. We have such limited space, I figured it would be best to have to figure out what you deemed essential and go from there. We also have access to the VA since this is partially an NSA substation, and can write it into your contracts to include access to Westside. That would also mean you'd have admitting rights and the ability to treat patients at both facilities."

Devon nodded in understanding, "It's not a bad deal, Babe. We'd get a stipend no matter if we were called in to treat someone or not, we could include in our contracts to have complete autonomy over treatment and methods. Not to mention you wouldn't have to wonder if some government hack is messing around in the Chuckster's brain."

Ellie looked between her fiancé, her brother, and Sarah, considering all that had been told to her that night and feeling a little overwhelmed at it all. It was a lot to take in over the course of just a few hours, and much as she might want to deny it, she'd made up her mind as soon as her brother had suggested it. With a sigh and a shrug, she gave her choice, "Know any good lawyers?"


	30. Chapter 30

"This plane is awesome!" Devon looked around the Gulfstream G550 that had just taken off from the private terminal at the Bob Hope airfield, otherwise known as the Burbank Hollywood Airport. "Do you travel like this all the time?"

"No," Chuck shook his head, he and Sarah had taken the couch that sat along side one wall while Devon and Ellie sat in the rotating captain's chairs that sat along the opposite wall. "It can vary, when we were traveling back and forth around Thanksgiving and when we came back for Christmas, we took commercial."

"We got lucky," Sarah added, "This aircraft was scheduled to ferry back to undergo it's tri-yearly maintenance review, essentially a tune up for aircrafts. Since it happened to coincide with our trip out to DC to finalize your contracts, we convinced them to give us a ride. If all goes well, we'll be able to catch it's ferry home since this aircraft is attached to the LA office."

"Who are we meeting again?" Ellie asked.

"The plan is to meet with the lawyers first," Sarah advised, "I spoke to a friend of mine who I met when I was seconded to the Secret Service. She's NCIS now and her boss has had some dealing with a couple JAG lawyers who have since resigned their commissions and now work in the private sector. Apparently, there's some long story that involving a murder investigation that put her boss and of the lawyers on opposite sides of each other. I guess there's some kind of grudging respect thing going on between the men, in any event, her boss recommended them."

"The irony of a man who goes by Harm negotiating contracts for medical consultants of the agencies, not withstanding," Chuck added, a smirk on his face.

Ellie rolled her eyes at her little brother before turning to Sarah, "I thought you said we were meeting with his partner."

"We were supposed to, but their kids all came down with the Chicken Pox, so she chose to stay home and let him take care of it." Sarah shrugged, "They're a husband/wife team."

"That seems to be going around a lot," Ellie nodded.

"Well when you work a job like they have, like we do, like you do, where it takes up a majority of your time, often you wind up meeting your match in those same places." Sarah gave them a small smile, "If memory serves, you two met in medical school, your parents met on the job, Chuck and I first met due to a common interest and were reunited because of the job… it happens."

"I guess so," Ellie nodded.

"Well the flight is going to be about 6 hours including the stop we are making in Oklahoma City to refuel and pick up lunch," Chuck advised, "What would you like to do to pass the time? I brought some DVDs, if you're interested."

After much discussion, '_The Princess Bride_' was decided on for the in-flight entertainment. The film finished up just as they were making their descent for their stop-over. While the plane was refueled, the first officer stepped off to verify and receive the food delivery for the pilots and passengers and soon they were off again. The simple meal of sandwiches, chips, and cola satisfied their hunger and they spent the rest of the flight discussing the finer details of what Ellie and Devon should try to request in their contract to protect themselves and receive the oversight they would require.

* * *

It was late afternoon when they arrived. They were met at the terminal by a man in his late 30's or early 40's. He was clearly military, or at least had been, if his posture was any indication. He had short brown hair and dark eyes. When he saw them approach, he gave them a kind smile and approached. "Agents Walker and Carmichael, I presume?" He asked, offering his hand to Sarah and Chuck, then turned to the doctors, "And Doctors Woodcomb and Bartowski," He likewise shook their hands, "It's nice to meet you. I'm a little surprised the Gunny recommended us."

"According to my friend, Kate, yours were the first names he mentioned after his, according her, normal rant about not trusting lawyers," Sarah rolled her eyes. "She said something about a grudging respect?"

"Seems like that's the only respect that man ever gives," The man rolled his eyes then turned to the rest, "I'm Harmon Rabb, I'm sorry Mac couldn't join us. Our son, Luke, came home from school with the chicken pox then his brother and sister got it, it was like a domino effect, and now they're all down for the count. We've been working from home so that Mac can take care of them, I hope that's not a problem."

"No problem at all," Ellie assured him, "We've all had it before. If you want, Devon and I could give the kids a once-over if there's time."

"That would be great, actually," Harm nodded, clearly relieved, "I can't tell you how difficult it's been to get an appointment with their pediatrician. Seems like every active and retired service member takes their kids to his office."

"Well you have two awesome doctors at your disposal," Chuck smiled, "Might as well take advantage of them, since they will be taking advantage of your services."

"Good point," Harm smiled, "I'm parked out front. I just ask you don't laugh when you see it, Mac insisted we buy something more family friendly when she was pregnant with our daughter. My SUV is in the shop, so I'm stuck driving Mac's van."

"Don't worry about it, man," Devon shook his head, "When Ellie and I have kids, we'll wind up getting one too. I heard the Toyota Senna is one of the safest ones out there, so I'll probably get us one of those bad babies."

Ellie gave him a skeptical look, "Yeah, we'll see about that…"

The five of them made their way out into the parking lot of the private terminal and loaded up into the silver van that Harm had indicated. Chuck was given the front seat and Devon took the middle bench, both on account of their taller than most frames. The women then squeezed into the rear bench seat for the ride to Alexandria where Harm and his wife now lived.

They pulled into the garage of a two-story brick townhome and Harm led them through the kitchen door, "Mac? I'm home!"

"Be down in a minute!" Came a disembodied female voice.

"Why don't we go take a seat, do you want anything to drink?" Harm offered, "I got beer, soda, water, juice boxes… I could brew some coffee."

"Water is fine," Ellie smiled, and the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

"Four, no make that six waters coming right up. Living room is right through there, make yourselves at home," He nodded through an archway where a dark leather sectional and a love seat sat.

When Harm joined them, he had a pretty brunette with shoulder length hair following behind him, each holding 3 water glasses. "I'd like to introduce you to my wife Sarah, but most folks just call her 'Mac.'"

"It's nice to meet you," Mac nodded, taking a seat on the love seat next to her husband, "I'm sorry we weren't able to do this at the office."

"It's no problem," Ellie assured her, "You can't help it if your kids get sick. I'm Ellie, this is Devon, my fiancé, my brother Chuck, and his girlfriend Sarah."

"So as to avoid any confusion, why don't you just call me Mac?" Mac chuckled. When their guests nodded their agreement, she pressed forward, "So it's my understanding that you need us to negotiate a contract for you?"

"For Devon and me, yes," Ellie nodded, "I assume you are already familiar with Chuck and Sarah's line of work?"

"We were briefed," Mac nodded, "So what, exactly are you looing for from this contract, a particular pay grade, certain protections, term limits…"

"We would like there to be as few loopholes as possible to avoid being forcibly conscripted to stay on after we are no longer needed for the purpose that led to us being added to their team." Ellie explained. "Our father, whose work we are somewhat continuing, fell prey to one of those loopholes and we'd rather avoid it."

"Understood," Mac nodded, "Harm, would you mind taking notes?"

"What am I, your aide now?" Harm protested, but it was clear he was teasing his wife. He excused himself for a moment and returned with a pen and a legal pad, quickly jotting down all that they had discussed.

This continued for a while more, with Mac, and occasionally Harm asking questions and Ellie or Devon answering until they'd more or less had a workable idea for what they would be presenting as a tentative contract for the doctors.

"Well, I think that just about does it," Mac smiled, "Now keep in mind that this will be a negotiation. Basically, we'll go in there present what we want, they'll present what their counsel has drawn up, and then we'll start working our way through each part of the contracts until we can reach a mutual agreement. It could take anywhere from a couple hours to a couple day, depending on how much negotiating that needs to be done. We'll take breaks to confer if needed, and if you at any point don't understand something that is being said, please let myself or Harm know so that we can explain it to you." She smiled at the nods of acknowledgement she was receiving from the four younger adults. "Do you have any questions?"

"None that have to do with the contract," Ellie smiled warmly at her, "But your husband mentioned you were having a hard time getting in to see your kids' doctor. Would you like Devon and I to examine the kids before we go?"

"That would be great," Mac sighed in relief. "Do you need anything from us to do your exams?"

"An accurate thermometer and introductions to the kids?" Ellie suggested.

"That we can definitely do," Mac nodded, "If you'll come with me, I'll introduce you."

Sarah and Chuck stayed downstairs and chatted with Harm while they waited for Ellie and Devon to finish up with the children. About a half hour later the two doctors and one lawyer returned to the living room.

"Well, according to the doctors, our children are indeed turning into chickens," Mac announced, causing her husband to chuckle.

"Strict diet of soft foods, warm tea, and ice pops until their throats are no longer sore," Ellie advised, "And plenty of oatmeal baths and calamine lotion to help with the itching. You might want to consider mittens or socks for their hands to keep them from scratching too. I know this one," She nodded to her younger brother, "Nearly scratched himself raw when he had it."

"Oh, c'mon Elle, I was seven!" Chuck protested.

"And you have a scar on your chin because you couldn't leave well alone," Ellie arched an eyebrow challenging him to refute her claim.

"I was wondering what had happened," Sarah snickered.

"Well, now you know," Ellie smirked.

"Leave the Chuckster alone," Devon protested, "Like he said, he was only seven. What seven-year-old boy has any kind of impulse control?"

Mac and Harm watched the banter with amusement, seeing some of the same communication traits between Ellie and Chuck as they were starting to witness between their own children.

Sarah was the first to notice the barely concealed smiles on the married lawyers faces and had the decency to blush, "Sorry." She then turned to her boyfriend and his family, "Hey guys, maybe this is a discussion for another time?"

"You're right Sarah," Ellie nodded before giving the younger woman and her brother an evil smirk, "It's not like I can't bring it up when you two have kids and have to deal with them getting the Chicken Pox."

Chuck and Sarah rolled their eyes as Devon snickered at his fiancée's antics.

Hoping to get the meeting back on track, Harm cleared his throat. "I know you had a long travel day and tomorrow is likely going to be busy for all of us, so we should probably wrap this up."

"Probably a good idea," Ellie agreed, "It's getting late, and I don't know about these guys, but I'm getting hungry and I'd kinda like to get something to eat and check into our hotel for the night."

"Agreed," Devon nodded.

"The meeting is going to be held at Langley," Harm reminded them, "I would recommend being there early in order to have enough time to clear security. Since the meeting is at 9:30 in the morning, I'd suggest arriving around 9am. I will meet you there and will be with you until we can all come to an agreement."

The four younger adults all nodded their understanding.

"Great," Harm nodded, "I'll drop you off at your hotel."

Chuck, Sarah, Elie, and Devon all thanked Mac for her help and bid her goodnight before following Harm out to the van to take the relatively short 25 minute drive to their hotel which was only a few miles from the CIA main headquarters where their meeting would be held the following day.

Harm helped Chuck and Devon unload the bags and bid them a good night before driving away, leaving the two couples to check in to their rooms. A half hour later found them seated in a casual dining restaurant down the block from the hotel that had been recommended by the woman at the front desk. Despite the cool winter weather, the four of them chose to bundle up and walk the short distance rather than wait on the hotel's shuttle to return from its most recent airport run.

After a quick meal of cheeseburgers, with extra pickles for Sarah, they made their way back to the hotel to get some sleep before their meeting the next day.

* * *

As Harm had advised, they arrived at the CIA Headquarters in Langley a half an hour before their meeting was to be held. This turned out to be great advice as it took a while for Sarah to remove and register the small arsenal she carried on her person. Ellie, who had already cleared the check point with Devon, watched in wide eyed amazement as Sarah meticulously removed throwing knives from a couple holsters as well as her side arm, and despite him telling her so it still seemed strange that her brother likewise had to register his weapon with the security desk. Once they'd cleared security as well it hadn't taken long for Chuck and Sarah's weapons to be secreted away on their persons. What really surprised Ellie was that once the guns and knives were put away, you couldn't tell that either of them was carrying.

"That's by design," Sarah had shrugged when Ellie commented on it, "We would be terrible covert agents if you could tell we were armed all the time." Ellie had to concede the point.

Despite the delay at the security check point, they still arrived at the conference room their meeting was to be held in 10 minutes early. Luckily, Harm and Mac, who had indeed been able to get their friends to care for the kids while they attended the meeting, were already there. Devon and Ellie took their seats beside the legal duo while Chuck and Sarah took seats nearby. A few minutes later, a tall man with dark skin and an imposing demeanor and a short red headed woman in the uniform of a two-star Air Force general and had a commanding presence, entered along with a man in a dashing suit and briefcase. They took their seats opposite Ellie, Awesome and their counsel and quickly made the introductions.

The general noticed Chuck and Sarah's presence and arched her eyebrow at them, "Agent Walker, Mr. Carmichael, why are you sitting back there like petulant children?" She demanded, "This whole thing was your idea, why pretend you're not involved in this whole proceeding now?"

"With all due respect, General, Doctor Bartowski and Doctor Woodcomb are more than capable of knowing what they want out of their contract," Sarah countered, not moving from her seat.

"Do you really expect me to believe that you have not already advised them?" General Beckman rolled her eyes, "Get over here and sit down, that goes for you as well, Mr. Carmichael."

"Yes, ma'am," The nodded and took the seats next to Ellie and Devon on the other side from where the lawyers sat.

"Now that the gangs all here, shall we get started?" Harm asked, looking around the table, "Fantastic, now the terms the good doctors voiced their preferences on are…"

The negotiation went much like the lawyers said it would with some back and forth to appease both parties. Ellie and Devon were able to negotiate a contract term of three years with the option to extend at their discretion, they were also granted access to the scans performed on Hartley during the Agent X project as well as the scans done on Chuck following his most recent update. In return the agencies would retain full rights to all research conducted on behalf of the Intersect project. Not to mention having two doctors at the top of their respective fields on their payroll. The stipend they offered to the doctors was more than generous and came with the promise of a research grant for Ellie once the Intersect project had concluded.

They had taken a break a couple hours after lunch for the lawyers to draw up the contracts and soon Ellie's and Devon's signatures were witnessed and notarized. The lawyers excused themselves, wanting to get back to their sick children leaving the two young couples chatting in the lobby when Ellie ears picked up on a voice she hadn't heard in over a decade.

"Hello, Diane," The suave voice purred.

Ellie's eyes widened when she noticed the petite general blush slightly and shyly push her hair behind her ear, "Hello Roan."

"Chuck," Ellie hissed at her brother, "Don't we know him?"

Chuck followed his sisters gaze and nodded, "Yeah, that's Roan Montgomery, he's an instructor at the farm now, but he was one of the people dad sent to watch over us after he had to leave." Chuck explained, "He was using a different name, but after his daughter and her husband moved to New York, and we went off to college, he had nothing left tying him to California, so he moved to DC."

"How do you know all that?" Ellie gave him a puzzled look.

"He told me," Chuck shrugged, "I had to take an abbreviated version of his course when I was being trained."

"Charles!" Roan approached. He looked much like he did when they had known him back in California, except his hair was nearly all grey. He is intelligent eyes then settled on Ellie, letting them slowly drift over her from head to toe and back again as Ellie shifted uncomfortably. "And who is this fetching creature? My dear you are absolutely stunning."

"Roan leave the poor girl alone," Beckman scolded her on-again-off-again paramour. "I apologize, you'd think by now we would have gotten him to stop trying to hump every leg he finds."

Ellie stared at the older couple, unsure what to make of them or their comments. Chuck was likewise dumbfounded.

Thankfully Sarah came to their rescue, "Agent Montgomery, it's nice to see you again."

"Agent Walker," He gave the young woman a smile that bordered on the lecherous and kissed her offered hand, "Lovely as ever. I see you are still with Charles."

This snapped Chuck out of his stupor, "Yes, still together and going strong… a-at least I think so." He shot his girlfriend an unsure look only to be answered with a loving smile and a slight nod of the head, "You remember my sister, Ellie."

"Eleanor," Roan smiled at the young woman in an almost fatherly manner, surprising Ellie at how mercurial his behavior seemed to be, "My daughter still speaks of you fondly like the little sister she never had." He gave her one more evaluating look, "You have grown up to be quite a lovely woman, just stunning."

"Thank you, I think?" Ellie gave him an unsure smile.

"And this is her boyfriend, Devon Woodcomb," Chuck gestured to the tall man with light brown hair who looked as if he just stepped off the pages of an Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue. "They just signed on to be medical liaisons to our team. Ellie is a neurologist and Devon specializes in cardiothoracic medicine."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Roan nodded to the man.

"Ellie, Devon, allow me to introduce you to Roan Montgomery, he's an instructor at the farm, and an old friend of our parents," Chuck finished the introductions.

"You knew our parents?" Ellie's eyes widened in surprise.

"Quite well," Roan nodded, "After your mother disappeared, your father told me he was going to go after her and asked me to keep an eye on you and Charles. My daughter was a senior in high school at the time, so I chose to stay and do as he asked instead of uprooting her before her education was completed. Of course, she then met that husband of hers and left me anyway."

"How are they?" Chuck asked.

"They're doing quite well, successful restaurant on the edge of Central Park, a whole litter of kids," Roan smiled warmly. "I was just telling Diane I'm long overdue for a visit and was hoping to go up to the City for a visit. I'm trying to convince her to go along with me."

"And I told you that I have too much to do this weekend," General Beckman countered.

"Which is a shame, as they all love you," Roan shook his head sadly, "In any event, I must be off, I have a class in less than an hour, working on kissing techniques today. Something you excelled at in your short time with me, wouldn't you agree, Agent Walker?"

Chuck and Sarah blushed as Ellie stared at them incredulously, "We are so discussing this later, little brother," Ellie warned under her breath.

"Charles, Eleanor, Sarah, it was lovely seeing you again. Dr. Woodcomb, it was a pleasure meeting you," Roan nodded to them, "Diane, I will see you tonight at seven."

"I'll see you tonight," General Beckman nodded, summarily dismissing Roan who strode off down a nearby hall, "I also must be off, Dr. Bartowski, I will make sure you receive the files and records that were promised to you by the end of the week. Agent Carmichael, I trust you will set your medical team up with secure communication?"

"Already on it, General," Chuck nodded, "I will update you as soon as the protocols are established."

"Very well," Beckman nodded, executed a military about face and took her leave.

"It's about that time, why don't we get some dinner and head back to the hotel?" Chuck suggested, "Our flight home isn't for two days, maybe we can take in some of the sights tomorrow?"

Sarah nodded and stepped away to call for a cab to pick them up.

"I know you've always been interested in seeing the Smithsonian," Ellie smiled at her brother, "And I'd like to see the National Mall. You've lived her before, Sarah, do you have any favorites?"

"No," Sarah shrugged, hanging up the phone, "And saying I lived here is generous, I had an apartment here, but it was really more of a glorified crash pad to be used between missions. Honestly, the only time I stayed there more than a couple days was a couple months go when your brother was doing his training."

"And there's nothing that you would want to see?" Chuck asked.

"Well," Sarah hedged, "I'd kinda like to see the Air and Space Museum and the Museum of American History…"

"So, that's two for the Smithsonian," Chuck nodded, "Devon?"

"All of it seems pretty awesome," Devon shrugged, "I'm game for any of it."

"You do realize that we're riding back on another ferry flight," Sarah pointed out as they made their way out of the building, "We don't have to cram everything in to one day, we can take some time in the morning the day after to do whatever we still want to see. We just have to let the pilots know."

"Good point," Chuck nodded, "So, dinner?"

"How about we go back to the hotel to change first?" Ellie suggested, "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be in a business suit all day."

"I'm with her," Sarah nodded as their cab pulled up.

They piled in to the car and took the short ride back to their hotel where they quickly changed and caught the courtesy shuttle to a nearby shopping center where they found a casual pizza place and enjoyed a few slices and some beer before returning to the hotel to hang out until they grew tired enough to retire to their rooms for the night.


	31. Chapter 31

The newly formed, LA-based team met up the next morning in the suite being shared by Chuck and Sarah. Chuck, as he had in Hungary, had ordered room service ahead so that by the time Devon and Ellie arrived, there was an assortment of pastries, muffins, bagels with a couple types of cream cheese, fruit, juice, and – of course – the ever-important carafe of coffee. The four of them sat around the table discussing their plans for the day and settling on starting with the Smithsonian Museums before continuing on to the National Mall. Whatever they didn't get to that day would be seen the next morning before they met their plane at the private terminal of Washington-Dulles International Airport.

"Oh, before we take off," Chuck interjected as they were clearing their places and stacking their dishes and cutlery on the service cart, "We do need to get your emails set up for the project. For safety's sake, we might want to come up with cover aliases for you and potentially code names. Do you two have any preferences as to names?"

Ellie and Devon shared a look as they thought, "Would it be okay if our aliases were married?" Devon inquired, "You know, save some confusion once we tie the knot?"

"I don't see that being problematic," Sarah shrugged.

"I've always liked the name Lisa," Ellie shrugged, missing the amused looks on Chuck and Sarah's faces. "What about you, Devon?"

"I dunno, Babe, I never thought of it before," Devon hedged.

"Aren't there any names you like that you wouldn't mind answering to?" Sarah prompted.

"The guys at the frat used to call me 'Carter,'" Devon shrugged, causing Ellie to roll her eyes.

"As in Cart-her away in the morning," Ellie explained to her brother and Sarah, "Before we met, Dr. Lothario over there was the king of one-night stands."

"Really?" Chuck arched an eyebrow at his soon to be brother-in-law.

"Not really something I'm proud of, Bro," Devon hung his head, embarrassed, "But all that stopped the day I met you sister, I swear."

"I know, Dev," Chuck assured him, "So Carter would work, any thoughts on a last name?"

When Devon hedged again, Chuck tried another tactic, "Okay, where is your family from, or where did you grow up?"

"I was born in Woodleaf, NC," Devon shrugged, "We lived in Covington Heights for years until my parents moved us to Chicago the summer before seventh grade."

"Covington, that could work," Sarah suggested, and Chuck nodded his agreement, "Alright, it's nice to meet you, Doctors Lisa and Carter Covington."

"I'll get to work getting you set up in the system so we can get your credentials made up before we have to fly back home," Chuck spoke as he set up his laptop, "This should only take a few minutes and then we can set about taking in the sights."

True to his word, Chuck had them fully registered in the servers for the CIA, NSA, and their cover jobs along with established with active, secure email that was through the cover corporation, and had received confirmation that the newest medical consultants' credentials would be ready to pick up the following day, all within the span of about fifteen minutes. Not bad for all that needed to be done to firm up their aliases with the companies, Chuck smirked to himself over the covers he'd established for them and looked forward to seeing their reactions.

"Alright!" He shut his laptop down and clapped his hands, "Whose ready to play tourists for the day?"

The others simply laughed at his antics and pulled on their coats, Sarah tossing Chuck's to him, and headed downstairs to hail a taxi and head to DC proper for the day.

* * *

They had started their day at the National Air and Space Museum where Ellie and Awesome, while finding the various planes, space craft, and other various items on display interesting, their main entertainment came from watching Chuck, and more surprisingly, Sarah geeking out over the various displays and exhibits. While many of their interests over lapped when it came to the various aviation and space-travel exhibits, Chuck was especially fascinated with the model of the original Enterprise, and the Moon Rover. Sarah, on the other hand practically dragged them over to see the Kitty Hawk Flier and through the exhibit on the history of the Tuskegee Airmen. It was early afternoon by the time they had seen all the exhibits on display, so they found a nearby hole in the wall serving pizza by the slice to enjoy a quick lunch before continuing on with their day.

The Museum of American History was much the same, however they all had their moments. While they enjoyed and found nearly everything in the building interesting, Chuck was especially drawn to the exhibits focusing on technology, music and pop culture letting his nerd flag fly the highest when they came upon the display of R2D2 and C3PO. Sarah was, to Ellie and Awesome's great surprise, obsessed with the displays featuring toys from the classic teddy bear to the various play-skool toys that were on display, however every time thought they noticed a melancholic look on Chuck's face, it was quickly gone as he guided his girlfriend from display to display. Neither knew that her interest stemmed from the fact she was essentially robbed of her childhood by her father's cons.

Ellie and Devon found the exhibits focusing on health and science very interesting, but Ellie was more drawn to the exhibits focusing on recent history such as the lunch counter from Greensboro. She was also excited when they found the patch from Julia Child's in-home cooking school, and the ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz. Devon was fascinated with the various sports memorabilia, even so far as bonding with Chuck over a baseball signed by Babe Ruth.

By the time they were done exploring the museums, it was getting late. Sarah suggested a nearby Mexican restaurant that she remembered was in the area where they could sit, enjoy a good meal, and revel in all they had seen at the museums. She had received a call from headquarters about mid-way through their day informing her that Devon and Ellie's credentials would be ready by 8AM the next morning and of the updated departure time of their ferry flight back to Burbank the next evening, which gave them enough time to visit the National Mall before heading home.

They were happily exhausted from their day when they arrived back at the hotel and made their way up to their rooms for a restful night's sleep.

* * *

The two couples met in the lobby the next morning, dress comfortably for their day of walking through the various sites of the National Mall and towing their luggage behind them. Once they checked out of their rooms, they hailed a taxi and Sarah gave the address for the CIA's headquarters. Upon arrival, she asked the cabby to wait while she ran inside. Choosing to only bring her ceramic knives and badge with her, there was nothing to set off the metal detectors at the security checkpoint. Once clear, it was a short walk to the security office where the packet containing Ellie and Devon's credentials were waiting for her to pick up. When she emerged from the building, she hopped back into the cab, handed the envelope containing Ellie and Devon's credentials to them, and directed him to make his way to the private terminal of the Washington Dulles Airport.

All four of them exited the vehicle once arriving at the airport and pulling their luggage from the cab's trunk. Sarah showed her credentials to the woman at the desk and was given an escort for herself and her group toward a small, secure, storage area where they could leave their bags until it was time for them to take their flight back home. There was an on-call transport service available that would take them over to the main terminals where they proceeded to board the bus that would take them to the Reston station where they would board the metro rail to L'Enfant plaza, the closest stop to the National Mall.

To their surprise, there was more to see at the National Mall than just the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Luckily, they had about five or six hours before they needed to make their way back to the airport to meet up with their flight. They took their time exploring the sites, pausing in reverence at the various war memorials along the way. They still had a couple hours before they needed to go back to the airport and hailed a cab to the National Cemetery to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They watched in awe at the silent watch kept over the grave by the Sentries of the Army's 3rd Infantry Old Guard before making their way back to the National Mall once more.

By mutual agreement, they decided to stop by the Shake Shack to grab a late lunch before meandering back to the Metrorail station to make their way back to the airport. As they were walking, a child sitting on a bench, crying and alone, caught their attention. Chuck and Sarah immediately began to scan the area looking for anyone in the near vicinity that could potentially be a parent of the child, but no one seemed as if they'd lost someone or cared about the child on the bench. Not wanting to overwhelm the child and figuring he would respond better to a female stranger it was decided that Ellie would confront the child.

While Devon, Sarah, and Chuck kept a look out for any frantic parents, Ellie quietly sat on the bench beside the child who she could now see was shivering. "Hello," She spoke softly.

The little boy's head shot up, his bright green eyes meeting Ellie's, surprise replacing the sadness and fear he had been displaying just a moment before, "Hi."

"My name is Ellie," She began, knowing simple statements were probably best at this point. "What is your name?"

"Tommy," The boy spoke softly.

"Where are your mom and dad?" Ellie pressed.

"My mom died a long time ago," Tommy sniffed and wiped a tear from his face, "I came with my dad. We were reading the names on the wall and when I turned around, he was gone. I couldn't find a park ranger and Dad always told me that if I get lost to stay where I am, and he'd fi-find me."

"That's very smart, Tommy," Ellie agreed, "But you must be cold, how long have you been sitting here?"

"I dunno," The boy who couldn't have been older than six or seven shrugged, "Long time."

"Well, first let's get you warmed up," Ellie suggested and turned toward Devon, "Dev, give me your coat."

Devon turned saw the shivering boy and quickly slipped of his coat, handing it to Ellie who then wrapped it around the boy's shoulders. "Thank you," Tommy gave her a smile.

"You're welcome," Ellie gave him a maternal smile, "Do you feel okay meeting my friends? We want to help you find your dad, okay?"

Tommy nodded and Ellie signaled Devon, Chuck, and Sarah to come closer. "This is Tommy," She introduced the boy to the three other adults, before pointing to each one of the adults in turn, "This is my fiancé, Devon. He's a doctor like I am. Do you mind if he looks you over? You said you've been sitting out here a long time and we just want to make sure you aren't sick."

"Okay," Tommy nodded again and patiently sat while the affable male doctor gave him a quick once over.

"Looking good, little Dude," Devon smiled at the boy before turning to his fiancée, "It's a good thing it's not colder today. No hypothermia, just cold, but we should probably get him inside and warmed up soon."

"No," Tommy shook his head, "I have to stay here, or else Dad can't find me."

"Tommy, we are going to do our best to help you find your dad," Ellie assured him, "But if you stay outside any longer you could get sick, and I'm sure your dad would prefer you to be healthy and safe, which means going inside somewhere. Are you hungry? We were just about to go get some hamburgers."

Tommy's eyes widened and his stomach growled, answering Ellie's question for him. "I'll take that as a yes to the hamburgers," Ellie chuckled. "Do you want to come with us?"

Tommy looked hesitantly at the four adults with him. Noticing his reluctance, Chuck squatted down on the ground in front of the little boy, getting on his level. "I know you're scared, and I bet your dad has taught you about stranger danger and that you shouldn't trust or go with an adult you don't know who isn't a policeman, a park ranger, or something like that, huh?" When Tommy nodded, Chuck have him a soft smile and reached into his pocket, withdrawing his credentials and nodding for Sarah to do the same.

The boy looked in awe at the tall man and the blonde who was with him when they opened their wallets, displaying their CIA IDs. "You're spies?!"

"No," Chuck shook his head, "But we do help them catch the bad guys."

"Cool," Tommy grinned.

"We are really good at finding people," Sarah added, crouching down beside Chuck, "What is your dad's name?"

"Staff Sergeant Thomas Winters," Tommy reported, "He's a marine."

"Okay," Sarah nodded, "Does he carry a cellphone, and do you know his number?"

"Yeah," Tommy nodded and rattled off the phone number, which Ellie punched into her phone.

As Sarah and Chuck continued to talk to the little boy, Ellie called his father, groaning when the voicemail answered. "Good afternoon, Sergeant Winters, my name is Dr. Eleanor Bartowski. Please do not be worried, you son, Tommy is just fine, a little cold, but fine. We found him near the Vietnam Memorial wall and are trying to get a hold of you so we can reunite you with your son. Since it's getting cold out, and we're all a bit hungry, we're going to head over to Shake Shack to get a bite to eat and warm up. You can reach me at (818) 555-9743. Please give me a call back so we can get Tommy back to you." She hung up the phone and gave a small head shake to her brother, who nodded.

"Looks like your dad didn't hear his phone, bud," Chuck shrugged, "I know my sister mentioned going to get something to eat, so let's go do that while we wait for your dad to call Ellie back. Okay?" He rose to his full height and held out his hand to the little boy who took it, his small hand disappearing within Chuck's own large one. When the boy held up his other hand to Sarah, she met Chuck's amused look before shrugging and taking the boy's hand.

Devon scooped up his coat, which had fallen off Tommy's shoulders and shrugged it on again as he and Ellie followed the other three over to the burger joint. They were quickly seated as they seemed to have arrived during the lull between the lunch and dinner rushes for the establishment and handed menus by a brunette waitress in her early 20's who told them she would give them a few minutes to decide. When she returned they ordered a hotdog with ketchup for Tommy, ShackBurgers for Chuck, Devon, and Sarah, with extra pickles on Sarah's a Chick'n Shack for Ellie and three large orders of fries to share along with root beers for all of them since, due to the hour, Ellie and Sarah were hesitant to give Tommy caffeine.

To anyone looking, they looked like a family, out to eat with a favorite aunt and uncle. Tommy was currently seated between Chuck and Sarah with his big green eyes and sandy blond hair making him look like he could be related to any of the four adults at the table. Their meal had been consumed and Tommy was coloring on the back side of his placemat with some crayons the waitress had brought him. Every so often, Ellie would check her phone, but had received no response from Tommy's father, she had made a couple more attempts at calling the man only to get voicemail every time.

Noticing Ellie's concern growing deeper, Sarah excused herself to the bathroom and asked Ellie to join her. Once the ladies were in the hall leading to the restrooms Sarah turned to the older woman, "Still can't reach Staff Sergeant Winters?"

"No, and I only get his voicemail when I call." Ellie sighed, "I mean, it's entirely possible he dropped his phone somewhere, but you'd think that if his son was missing, he'd at least try to call his voicemail in case the kid was found. I'm worried something happened to him."

"Me too," Sarah nodded sadly, "His dad is a Marine, so technically his disappearance is of concern to the Marine Corps and would be investigated by NCIS. Let me give Kate a call and see if her team can meet us here."

"Alright," Ellie nodded, "I don't know about you, but I actually do need to use the facilities, so while you're calling your friend, I'm just going to duck into the ladies' room."

Sarah nodded her understanding as she scrolled through her contacts to the section marked 'T' and pressed call. "Hey Kate, it's Sarah… yeah, I'm still in town at least for a little while longer. Our flight leaves in about three hours. We ran into a bit of a situation that we could use our help with…"

When the women had returned to the table, they found the men had decided to dessert for the table. The adults were all given shakes, strawberry for Ellie, chocolate for Sarah, black and white for Devon, cookies and cream for Chuck, and a single dip scoop of chocolate custard for Tommy. The waitress was already passing out the cup of custard to Tommy and distributing the tall shake glasses and mixer cans to the appropriate adults when they returned. Not wanting to alarm Tommy, the women quietly informed the guys what was going on and were met with nods of understanding.

After Tommy had finished his treat, Chuck took him to the men's room to clean up as he had managed to get some of the chocolate dessert smeared across his cheeks. It was, frankly, adorable and Chuck could just imagine his and Sarah's kids looking much the same some time in the future. He sat Tommy up on the counter and wet a paper towel before gently wiping the chocolate off the boy's cheeks. "Alright, all cleaned up. Since we're in here, do you need to use the bathroom?"

"Yeah," Tommy admitted.

"Alright," Chuck nodded and opened the stall doors, making sure they were clear before holding one open for Tommy, "I'll be right out here," Chuck assured the boy and shut the door of the stall to give him some privacy. A couple minutes later, Chuck heard Tommy flush the toilet. He waited until Tommy emerged from the stall and boosted him up so he could wash his hands before they returned to the table.

When they arrived back at the table, they found that four more adults, three men and a woman, had joined their group. Ellie and Devon were quietly conversing with an older gentleman a bit shorter than they were with kind eyes and a grandfatherly demeanor who was nodding along with them. Sarah was speaking with the other three, most of her interactions were directed at the woman with dark hair and the older man, clearly the leader of the group with a greying military high and tight haircut and bright blue eyes.

Sarah noticed Chuck and Tommy's approach and waved them over, "Agent Gibbs, allow me to introduce my partner, CIA Special Agent Charles Carmichael, and this is Tommy." She laid her hand on the boy's shoulder. "Chuck, Tommy, this is Special Agent Gibbs, and his team Agents Kate Todd and Tony DiNozzo."

"Are you spies too?!" Tommy's eyes widened.

Sarah looked uncomfortable for a moment, as Chuck tapped Tommy on the shoulder, "We're not spies, Bud, remember? We just work with them."

"I heard Sarah say you are agents," Tommy pointed out, a challenging look on his face almost as if to say _I'm young not stupid._

"Okay, fine, you caught us," Chuck sighed as Gibbs and his team chuckled, "But you can't tell anyone, alright."

"Okay," Tommy nodded and turned back to Gibbs. "So, you're not with the CIA?"

"No, we're not," Gibbs shook his head, "We work for NCIS, do you know what that is?"

"Yeah," Tommy nodded, "Dad told me that you are the good guys."

"That's right," Gibbs nodded, "I'm a Marine just like your dad and we take care of our own."

"Ooh Rah!" Tommy grunted, causing Gibbs to grin.

"I like you, Son," Gibbs nodded approvingly. "I think its always best to be honest, so here's the deal. Since your dad is a Marine, my team is taking over the search for him, which means you need to come with us until we can find your dad."

"Why can't I stay with Chuck, Sarah, Ellie, and Awesome?" Tommy's eyes got misty.

Chuck crouched down and turned the boy to face him. "Tommy, we have to go home. We don't live here; we were just on vacation and Ellie and Awesome have to get back to work tomorrow. Kate is a friend of Sarah's and wouldn't work with someone who wasn't a good guy. Besides, let me tell you a secret, Sarah and I also work with a Marine back home, and he is one of the best guys I know. I bet your dad would really like him if they ever met, and if Gibbs says he's a Marine, he's a good guy too. He'll take care of you until they are able to find your dad."

"Okay," Tommy nodded with a sniff, "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Bud," Chuck gave the boy a soft smile, "Tell ya what, Ellie gave your dad her number. When Agent Gibbs finds your dad, have him give Elle a call, maybe we can all meet up again for a visit when you're on break from school or something. Sound good?"

"Uh huh," Tommy nodded and threw himself into Chuck's arms, nearly knocking him over at the force of the impact. It was soon apparent the boy wasn't about to let go, so Chuck pulled him close and stood back to his full height.

Gibbs didn't miss the soft looks that were directed toward the tall agent by the women in their vicinity. It was clear that this man was something special, and if the looks the CIA agent was giving him were any indication, he would be well rewarded once they got to where they were going that evening.

"Is this our young mister Winters?" Chuck and Sarah turned at the sound of the English-accented voice.

"Yeah," Chuck nodded, "He's having a bit of a hard time right now."

"I don't doubt it." The man nodded, wise blue eyes evaluating the small form still clinging to the tall CIA agent. "I know your sister, Eleanor and her young man already have evaluated the boy, but I do need to give him a look-over for my own documentation."

Chuck nodded and whispered something in Tommy's ear. The boy nodded against Chuck's neck and relaxed his hold a bit. The older man gestured to a nearby table with some chair and waited for Chuck to take a seat, Tommy, in his lap as the older man pulled out a seat and faced them.

"Good evening Tommy," The older man gave him a grandfatherly smile, "My name is Donald Mallard, but my friends just call me Ducky."

"Like the cartoon?" Tommy perked up, "Donald Duck."

"Very much so, only I would like to think I have a much cooler head than my fowl and animated counterpart," Ducky joked, "I'm a medical examiner, which I just a fancy way of saying that I'm a doctor who works with an investigative team such as NCIS. Jethro and I have been friends for a great many years."

"'Jethro?'" Tommy giggled, "That's a funny name."

"It is isn't it?" Gibbs shrugged, "I was named for a good friend of my father's who saved him when they served together. My Pop calls me Leroy, but I don't much like it, Ducky is the only one allowed to call me Jethro, I'm Gibbs to everyone else."

Tommy nodded, "Okay, Gibbs."

"Good man," Gibbs nodded, "Get on with it, Duck, these folks have a plane to catch."

"Right," Ducky nodded, "I'll make this as quick as possible. Tommy, how old are you?"

"Six and a half, I'll be seven in April," Tommy stated.

"You are a very brave young man," Ducky nodded, "I'm sure losing your father was quite scary."

"It was, but Ellie and Captain Awesome and Chuck and Sarah found me," Tommy explained.

When Ducky looked to Chuck for clarification, "Awesome is Devon." He shrugged, "It's a nickname on account of the fact he uses the word to describe everything he does from sky diving to white water rafting, free climbing… flossing. Ellie hates it, but Devon actually likes it, so it stuck."

"Having met the man and hearing his way of speaking, I see how one might start to call him that," Ducky nodded before turning back to Tommy, "I have to ask, although I'm sure I already know the answer, but you didn't run away, did you?"

"No, sir," Tommy shook his head vehemently, "We were just reading the names on the wall and when I turned around, my dad was gone."

"I see, and no injuries recently?" Ducky saw the confused look on the boy's face until Chuck broke in.

"He's just asking if you've gotten hurt in the last few days," Chuck explained, "Did you fall down or get hurt somehow?"

"I fell off my bike and scraped my knee," Tommy shrugged, lifting his pant leg to reveal a bandage just below his patella, "But Dad put some Neosporin on it and a Band-Aid, so it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Doctor Woodcomb, erm Devon, said that you were quite cold when they found your earlier," Ducky continued, "How long were you sitting outside?"

"I don't know," Tommy shrugged.

Ducky nodded, "Do you mind if I do a quick exam just to make sure you haven't caught a cold?"

Tommy nodded and sat patiently as the older doctor pulled out a white wand with a ball on the end. He ran the ball over Tommy's head until it let out a quick beeping sound. The doctor checked the reading and nodded, a small smile on his face indicating that the reading was within normal range. He then felt under the boy's jaw along his neck and smiled, "Well, you seem to be a healthy young man," Ducky pronounced. "You don't seem to have suffered from your time out of doors, other than a little chill, which is to be expected in this weather."

"Is he good Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"Right as rain as they say," Ducky nodded, "He's a healthy little boy by my estimations."

"Great," Gibbs nodded, "Tommy, we need to get back to the NCIS office so my team can keep working on finding your dad. You need to say goodbye to Agent Carmichael and his family."

"Okay," Tommy nodded.

"I'll take him around," Chuck assured the greying NCIS Agent before setting Tommy on the ground and taking his hand, leading him to where Ellie and Devon had joined Sarah in chatting with Kate and Tony. "Hey guys, Tommy is going to go with Gibbs so we can head home."

Ellie gave the boy a sad smile and crouched down, gathering the boy into a hug, "Alright, Sweetie, you be good for Agent Gibbs, do everything he says." She admonished the young boy much as she used to when Chuck was around the same age and she was a young teenager.

"Yes'm" Tommy nodded solemnly and gave her a hug back.

Devon held out a fist, which Tommy bumped, "Stay awesome, little Dude."

"Okay," Tommy smiled at the larger than life doctor before turning to see Sarah.

"Hey Kiddo," She gave him a soft smile, running her hand through his short hair, "It was nice to meet you. I hope you find your dad and can come see us again soon."

"Me too," Tommy nodded and held his arms out to her, giving her a hug when she bent down to him.

"Alright, Buddy," Chuck caught the kid's attention once more, "It's time for us to go." He gave the boy one last hug and led him over to where Gibbs stood with the rest of his team. The whole group exited together, while Gibbs got Tommy situated in the back seat, Sarah and Kate exchanged a brief hug and promises to call to talk and follow up on Tommy soon. Gibbs gave the command and the teams quickly exchanged handshakes and the NCIS team loaded up in the navy-blue sedan, Kate and Tony in the back seat on either side of Tommy, and Ducky in the passenger seat with Gibbs driving. Tommy waived to the four who had saved him as the car eased into traffic and down the road.

Once they were out of sight, Sarah hailed a cab, knowing that there wasn't enough time to catch the train back, and gave the cabbie their destination as the four of them loaded up into the car to catch their flight. The trip back to Burbank was filled with excitement over their new endeavor, Ellie and Awesome having already received the medical files from the Agent X trials and reviewing them as the plane leveled off, but also all feeling sad for Tommy and hoping that his father could be found soon.

Since their pilots had waited for them, the flight was a little late taking off and it was nearly 10PM by the time they arrived back to Casa Bartowski-Woodcomb. Chuck didn't want Sarah to have to drive more that night, and insisted she stay over, not that it took too much convincing on his part. The next day they would officially start their new mission, which, if all went well, could not only help the agencies make improvements to the Intersect, but potentially free Orion, Frost, and Winterbottom – code name Lupus - to return home to their families.


	32. Chapter 32

Chuck was reviewing the dailies on his computer when he was alerted by a knock on his door. "Come in," He called out, sending his report and turning to greet his guest. "Good afternoon Dr. Covington, what can I do for you today?"

Ellie was still getting used to the cover persona she was known by for the sake of the rest of the staff at the substation her family worked out of, "For the sake of avoiding confusion, please just call me Lisa," Ellie gave her brother a soft smile, "As to what I came by for, I need you to come back to the lab with me. I want to get a start on your tests."

Chuck nodded and rose from his desk, straightening his time out of nervous habit. He gave a passing thought to pulling his suit jacket back on but figured Ellie would just have him take it off again anyhow, so he left it where he'd draped it over the back of his office chair. "What kind of tests are we talking about here?" He inquired as they walked toward the clinic area of the back office.

"MRI, CAT scan, maybe a PET scan and an EEG," Ellie shrugged, opening the door to her lab which had been sectioned off into units. There was the general treatment and medical bay which held two exam and treatment rooms. A surgical suite was next with all the tools, monitors, and equipment Ellie and Devon had requisitioned. Next was the office that was shared by the Doctors Covington. Last was the imaging and radiology lab which housed a large doughnut shaped contraption with a movable table, as well as what looked to be a dentist's chair with a monitor facing the chair as well as one next to the chair connected by wires to an odd looking cap with a Velcro strap. Separated by a partition was a desk with a computer hooked up to three monitors and a window looking into the imaging suite.

Ellie guided her brother into the imaging suite's monitoring station, "Okay remove any and all metal from your person and set it on the side table there," She pointed to a small table that sat beside a comfortable looking love seat. She waited until her brother had fully complied with her instructions before guiding him into the main area of the lab instructing him to lay on the bed with his head toward the large doughnut looking machine, "I was able to get your scans from six years ago when that pitcher from U-Dubb beaned you in the head with that wild pitch. Of course, you had to get hit in the head when you were two states away in Seattle, where I couldn't get to you, and not when you played against UCLA."

"I really didn't have much of a choice in the matter, Elle," Chuck arched an eyebrow at his sister's rant. "Besides they wouldn't have allowed you to work on me, anyhow."

"Don't cloud the issue with logic," Ellie groused, "Now, stay still until I tell you it's okay to move."

"Okay," Chuck huffed a sigh and laid down as instructed, trying to stay as still as possible even when he felt the table start to move. He heard the machine whir and several loud thunks before the table began to move again.

"Okay, that's done, now go sit in the chair over there," Ellie pointed toward the dentist chair.

Chuck nodded and meandered over to the chair and took a seat, giving his sister an expectant look. "You gonna give me a cleaning?" He joked, "'Cause I just had my exam last month."

"Don't be a smartass," Ellie rolled her eyes and picked up the cap with wires attached to it and began fitting it over Chuck's head, "You really need to get a haircut, your hair is making animal shapes again, I think I just saw a llama."

"Sarah likes my hair like this," Chuck countered, earning another eye roll from his older sister, "So what's up with the cap? Are you planning to wire me for sound?"

"No," Ellie shook her head as she turned on the monitor next to the bed, "I am going to do an EEG. I want to get a baseline first so we're going to sit and talk for a while, I'll ask you some questions and then after a while, I'm going to show you some images on your monitor," She nodded toward the monitor that faced him, "So I can see if there are any changes that occur when you flash."

Chuck nodded his head and sat patiently as his sister did her experiment. Answering questions when asked and flashing when needed. It took around a half hour before Ellie was unstrapping the cap from his head and telling him he was free to go because she needed to take time to evaluate the data she had collected that day.

On his way back to his office, Chuck stopped in the restroom to run his fingers through his matted curls before continuing on his way. As he passed Sarah's office, he saw her speaking on the phone. She looked up and noticed him, waving him in and gesturing for him to take a seat in one of her guest chairs, "Hey, Chuck just walked in, so I'm going to put you on speakerphone."

Sarah smiled at Chuck as she pressed the button on her phone for speaker, "Okay Kate, what were you saying?"

"Looks like Tommy is going to be staying with Gibbs for a little longer," They heard the female NCIS agent report, "We found the Staff Sergeant, but he's in bad shape. Turns out he was mistaken for another man who was in deep with some connected loan sharks. They beat him pretty bad over the past several days and dumped him off at a local mission. The Sisters of Charity found him there and one of them noticed his dog tags. Bathesda got a hold of the director who told Gibbs. They put him a medically induced coma to let some of his more serious injuries heal."

"Oh my God," Ellie gasped from the doorway. She'd been on her way out to meet up with Devon when she heard the familiar voice of Sarah's friend from DC.

"Who was that?" Came the female voice on the other end of the line.

"Chuck's sister," Sarah responded, meeting Ellie's eyes and indicating for the older woman to take the seat next to her brother, "She works with us as a medical contractor."

"Oh, right, of course," Kate chuckled.

"So, what's going to happen to Tommy?" Ellie asked.

"He's going to be staying with my boss until his father is able to take care of him again," Kate relayed, "It was Gibbs' idea, and that wasn't even the most shocking part. Abby and I offered to help Gibbs get Tommy situated, got some sheets, clothes, toys, the whole nine. When we got to his house Gibbs and Tommy were upstairs, painting. When we found them, they were in a room paining over pink walls. Turns out that Gibbs is, or was, a dad."

"'Was?'" Sarah frowned.

"Yeah, it's really sad," Kate sighed, "His first wife and their daughter were murdered while he was on his last deployment. He wound up hitting it off with the lead NIS agent who was investigating their deaths and was eventually recruited to his team. I'm pretty sure Ducky knew about his wife and daughter, but the rest of us were surprised. I think Abby had an inkling that he had been close with a child at some point, but she thought it was a niece or nephew of one his ex-wives, not his actual kid. It does help to make sense of how good he is with kids, though."

"But how is he able to keep Tommy?" Sarah asked.

"Gibbs is apparently full of surprises," They could practically hear Kate's eye roll, "He's a registered emergency foster parent, keeps his license current and everything. He works directly through Child and Family Services here in DC so he doesn't have to deal with the agency middle men. That way if he needs to take in a kid during an investigation, he doesn't have to jump through a bunch of hoops to do it, so long as he stays in contact with the case worker assigned to the child. It doesn't happen very often, Tony's been on the team a couple years longer than me and he says this is the first time he's known of Gibbs taking in a kid. Ducky said it's happened a couple times but it usually no more than a day or two. This is going to be the first time he's had a long-term placement."

"At least we know Tommy is safe until his dad is healed up," Ellie admitted.

"Let us know if there's anything you guys need," Chuck added.

"We will," Kate agreed, they heard a female voice in the background, "Hey, I got to go, Abby just got here and we're heading out for a girls' night."

"Alright, Kate, thanks for giving us an update," Sarah smiled toward the phone, "You and Abby have fun, and be safe."

"Always," Kate agreed, "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye," They chorused before the call disconnected.

"That was nice that she gave us an update," Ellie mused.

"She knew we were concerned," Sarah nodded, "She's pretty good at keeping me in the loop when our paths cross, especially if an investigation or case is involved. Although, she's more reluctant when it comes to her love life. I'm pretty sure she has something going on with her partner… or at least wants to have something going on with him."

"Isn't he a bit old for her?" Chuck arched an eyebrow

"Not Gibbs," Sarah scoffed, "Tony. Kate and I have been friends for a few years now, and let me tell you, she is definitely attracted to Tony, and if I'm not mistaken, he's attracted to her. If they don't have something going on that they are trying to hide from their boss, there's something that is holding her back from starting something with him."

"I guess he's kinda cute in a flirty frat boy kind of way," Ellie mused.

"Which, as evidenced by that ring on your finger is your type," Chuck teased.

"Shut up," Ellie rolled her eyes, "Technically it's Sarah's type too."

Chuck and Sarah looked at her, shocked.

"Really, you are both going to play this game?" Ellie gave them both an incredulous look, "Chuck you were a frat boy and the amount of flirting you and Sarah do on a nearly hourly basis is ridiculous."

"But I'm not the stereotypical 'frat guy,'" Chuck protested, "Not like Awesome and Agent DiNozzo."

"Nerdy frat guy is still a frat guy," Ellie pointed out.

"And I kinda like my nerdy frat guy," Sarah winked at Chuck, making him blush.

"And on that note," Ellie stood, "I'm meeting Devon for dinner after his shift. You two at least try to control yourselves until I'm out of the building."

"Love you too, Elle," Chuck rolled his eyes, "I got some work left on that security upgrade Beckman asked me to look at for the intranet servers."

"Sarah, please take him home at a decent hour," Ellie gave her brother's girlfriend a knowing look.

"I'll try," Sarah shrugged, "Are you and Devon still on for Saturday night?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded, "There's no way we could turn down sushi."

"Great," Sarah smiled, "We'll see you there, if not sooner."

"I may still swing by tomorrow or Friday, depending on how long my rounds are," Ellie shrugged, "I really want to have time to evaluate Chuck's scans see if I can't find that screw that came loose."

The women chuckled as Chuck sent them a fake hurt look, "If you two are just going to insult me all night, I'm going to go back to my office."

"You know we love you, little brother," Ellie smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, love you too," Chuck rolled his eyes as he stood, "The intranet upgrade shouldn't take me more than an hour or two, if I haven't come back before seven, come get me."

"You got it, Sweetheart," Sarah nodded as her boyfriend left her office.

Ellie looked at her watch, "Oh, okay, yeah I really got to go now. I'll see you later, Sarah."

"See ya later," Sarah smiled at the older woman before turning back to her work, pausing momentarily to set the alarm on her phone to remind her to collect her boyfriend at the requested time.

* * *

The intranet security upgrade went faster than Chuck had originally expected, allowing Chuck and Sarah to be able to head out by 5:30pm. They had finally been able to move into their new apartment the previous weekend but were still unpacking here and there as they found places for their things to go.

There had been some disagreements when it came to what would be used to decorate the living room and their bedroom as Chuck was insistent on displaying at least some of his nerdy memorabilia around the apartment. After much discussion, they agreed to hang his TRON poster in the dining room on the section of wall by the pass-through to the kitchen. His Han and Chewie action figures were displayed on his bookshelf where his considerable comic book collection was stored in the bedroom. His old ComiCon passes and a few of his other action figures had been put into storage or brought to work to decorate his office.

Another issue had been selecting furniture for their new place. Since the majority of the furniture in Chuck's old apartment belonged to Ellie and Devon, Chuck and Sarah had to find a new living room set, dining room set, and furniture for the spare room. The dining set was easy enough, as Ellie was the primary hostess of the family, they chose to get a simple, solid, square oak table with matching chairs. The living room took some negotiating before the settled on a red upholstered couch with iron and glass end tables, shelf, and coffee table, all of which they knew they would probably need to replace or pass down to Ellie and Devon if all things went to plan.

The spare room was the hardest room to decorate, not because they disagreed, but because they desperately wanted to decorate it as Molly's room, but didn't want to jinx the possibility of bringing her home in the near future or buy the wrong furniture that she would either be too big for or not big enough for what they would get, and neither were willing to voice what they were thinking. Luckily for them, one of the saleswomen noticed them and approached to see if she could help. After talking to them for a while, and them using the cover of being prospective foster parents to explain their inability to decided on bedroom furniture for the spare room, she guided them over to the children's furniture section and showed them a bed that could be configured as a crib, toddler bed, daybed, or even accommodate a full-sized mattress depending on the frames and pieces used. They'd wound up purchasing it in the light brown wood along with the matching dresser and changing table and a full-sized frame. Chuck had enlisted Devon's help in building the bed into the full-sized bed configuration, storing the pieces that would serve as the sides of a crib away along with the to-be-built-later changing table in their storage unit.

"What do you want to do for dinner?" Sarah asked, hanging her purse on the coat tree by the door.

"Something simple," Chuck shrugged, "Pasta maybe?"

"Pasta sounds good," Sarah smiled, "Do you mind starting the water while I go change?"

"Yeah, I got this," Chuck gave her a small smile and a nod before watching her retreat toward the bed room, "Hate it when she leaves but love to watch her go," He muttered to himself only to chuckle when Sarah caught on to his staring and put a little hip sway into her walk.

Shaking himself from his reverie, Chuck shrugged off his suit jacket, laying it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs and rolled up his sleeves as he made his way into the kitchen. He had just added some olive oil to the heating water when Sarah returned, hair up in a messy bun, wearing his old Quantum Leap shirt, yoga pants, and in bare feet. Chuck couldn't help but stop and stare at the beauty that was his girlfriend, and dare he think it, seeing her wearing his shirt illicited a primal response in him, and by the smile on her face, she knew it.

"Hey beautiful," He wrapped her in his arms, leaning down to press a kiss to her warm lips.

"Hmm" She hummed against his lips, "Hey yourself, Handsome." She leaned back to look up at him, "Why don't you go get changed while I get the pasta and sauce going."

"Alright," Chuck nodded and made his way down the hall to their room only to return a few minutes later in a grey henley and jeans. Working in tandem with his girlfriend, he pulled out a loaf of Italian bread, slicing it open and slathering it with garlic butter before setting it under the broiler to cook while the pasta finished cooking. By the time Sarah had drained the pasta and poured the sauce over top, Chuck had removed the bread from the oven and sliced it into more manageably sized pieces before tossing the smaller pieces into a basket to set on the table. Sarah quickly plated their dinner while Chuck poured them some wine and soon, they were sitting down to eat.

They knew the novelty of sharing a meal in their home would eventually wear off and not feel as special, but for the time being they were enjoying the feeling of being in each other's company in a more permanent setting. Sticking with the routine they'd developed over the past week or so, once dinner was finished, Chuck sent Sarah off to the living room with a fresh glass of wine while he made quick work of storing the leftovers and cleaning up the dishes before grabbing a bit more wine himself and settling onto the couch to enjoy watching a little TV before heading off to bed knowing that sleep might not come for another couple hours after they'd retired for the night.


	33. Chapter 33

It had been a little over a month since Ellie had started reviewing Chuck's brain scans and comparing them with the limited records they had from the Agent X project and concluded that her brother had a singularly unique brain structure that was able to support the Intersect. Whether or not it was due to his receptors being 'primed' by the accidental download he'd gotten as a child, was still unclear as there were no medical records for her father pre- and post- Intersect download. While the Intersect did seem to be spread through the usual memory centers of the brain, it appeared that Hartley's upload had damaged his amygdala. As it turns out, Volkoff started suffering severe migraines several years ago, and his private physician had some scans done for diagnostic purposes. Frost was able to get copies of the scans sent to Ellie to review, which was how she discovered the damage to his amygdala that had developed over the years, which may account for the erratic behavior that the Volkoff personality was known for. One thing was for sure, when she and Chuck figured out a removal protocol for the Agent X Intersect, Hartley would need to go through extensive therapy to assist in his recovery post-removal, whether he remembered his Volkoff days or not.

She had started developing a hypothesis on how the programing was able to integrate itself into the human brain and hoped to implement her findings into Chuck's removal algorithm simulations to see if her theories could result in a successful removal of the programming. As much as she would love to develop a successful removal protocol within the next month, she knew that, like with all experimental medical treatments – especially involving a neurological component – the path to successful resolution was likely to be a long one. She was finishing her most recent report on her research when she heard a tap on her office door. Looking up, she saw her brother and smiled.

"Hey, Chuck, what can I do for you?" She inquired as she saved her work.

"Could you join Sarah and I in my office?" He gave her an unsure look, "Dad just reached out saying that he and Mom had some information for us."

Despite the line of communication that was now open between themselves and their parents, it was still awkward for the Bartowski parents and adult offspring. While Chuck and Stephen had two-way secure communication, the only way to have contact with Mary was for her to reach out, and only when it was safe for her to do so without blowing her cover. For her to be reaching out, it usually meant she had information of vital importance.

"When?" She asked.

"Fifteen," Chuck stated. At his sister's nod, he left to return to his office.

Ellie sighed and closed her report. Since it was nearing the end of her allotted lab time, she collected her purse and jacket before locking her office and lab before heading toward her brother's office suite. When she arrived, she found he'd already activated some of the security protocols. The windows were now opaque, and she suspected he was waiting to activate the sound dampeners until after she and Sarah were in the room. She knocked on the door and was greeted by Sarah who closed and locked the door behind them. Chuck looked up from the small conference table where he was working to establish a secure connection to the server through which their parents communicated, and tapped a button in a remote beside him, activating the last of the security protocols.

Sarah took her usual seat beside Chuck and Ellie took a seat across from them as the monitor came to life displaying a split screen with their father on one side, and their mother on the other.

"It's good to see your faces," Stephen's customary greeting was accompanied with a warm smile which was not as awkward in appearance as it once was.

"Hi Dad," The Bartowski siblings greeted him as Sarah gave the older man a small smile.

"I have come across some information that may be of interest to you," Mary, as usual got right to the point, "Especially for you, Agent Walker as it pertains to one of your most recent missions before you were assigned to protective detail."

Sarah's eyebrows shot up, her interest clearly piqued, as she waited for the older agent to continue.

"A rogue agent recently reached out to Volkoff Industries for assistance in locating a package that slipped through his fingers several months back," Frost continued, "As it is my responsibility to vet such things, I engaged him directly and involved no other operatives from V.I. It helped that agents Barker had heard whispers of the botched operation during which the package was disappeared and had made mention that, in hindsight, the operation seemed questionable at best."

"Would I be correct in assuming the individual who reached out to you was Kieran Ryker?" Sarah inquired.

"It is," Frost confirmed, "I have him in a holding pattern while I 'research' the matter, and have his movements and communications being monitored. What I don't know is if you want to handle this yourselves, as, if I'm not mistaken, the mission has a personal component to it, much like the one you are currently on."

"Sarah, what is going on?" Ellie looked at her brother's girlfriend.

"It's a long story, Ellie," Sarah sighed. "I told Chuck about it the night we reconnected again. The package your mother is referring to is a child. Ryker had her parents killed so he could claim her inheritance. I didn't realize what was going on until I found the package. I managed to smuggle her out and she is now hidden away with someone I trust."

The look that came over Ellies face left little doubt that her mother was the operative commonly known within the espionage community as The Frost Queen. Her eyes shot to Sarah, "As a doctor, it would go against my oath to go after this man."

"Don't worry, Ellie," Sarah gave her a knowing look, "Some of us don't have such restrictions." Turning back to the monitor, "Can you keep him on ice?"

"Solid copy," Mary's determined look matched Sarah's, "Am I to assume that Major Casey will be accompanying you?"

"Once we brief him, I don't think there is a way to keep from releasing the Casey," Chuck scoffed, "He'll have Vera, Jolene, and Henrietta locked and loaded within minutes and be on his way to catch the next soviet-bound transport."

"Very well, I'll keep you updated with Ryker's coordinates," Mary nodded, "Release the Casey, Mama Bear and Piranha may want the support."

"'Mama Bear?'" Ellie inquired, shooting a look to Chuck and Sarah.

"Part of the long story, Elle," Sarah stated, "One I will clarify once we complete our mission objectives."

Ellie gave her a look that made it clear that she would hold Sarah to that promise.

"Where do we stand on our other project?" Orion not to subtly changed the topic.

"I have some theories as to how the intersect was able to so deeply imbed itself into Chuck and Uncle Hartley's brains," Ellie advised, "It would be helpful if I could get some of your scans as well. Is there any way you can come in?"

"No, Eleanor, I have to stay off the grid for your protection." Stephen shook his head sadly.

"Dad, what if I set it up so that the security in the building and office would wipe records of you being here?" Chuck suggested.

"I could run the tests under a John Doe," Ellie added, "Every little bit of information I can get helps in figuring how to fix the three of you."

"Charles," Orion sighed, "See what you can come up with and I will consider it."

"I'll update you as soon as I can," Chuck confirmed, "I'll set up the security protocol and upload it to our secure server for you to access once you are clear to wipe the records."

"Aces, Charles," Stephen smiled.

"Do we have an ETA as to when to expect you in Moscow?" Frost inquired, trying to get back on track with the original reason for the call.

"From the sounds of it, Chuck and Ellie have some things to discuss," Sarah looked toward the Bartowski siblings for confirmation and was met with nods from both, "I would say we can expect to be departing no later than tomorrow afternoon."

"Understood," Frost nodded, "My time is nearly up. I will set up a dead drop where I will leave you a burner loaded with a tracking application. I've already tagged Ryker using radioactive nanobots slipped into his food when we met to discuss the assistance he was requiring."

"Thank you for your assistance," Sarah's small smile backed up the sentiment.

"You're welcome, Dear," Mary gave her a soft smile, "Family must always come first, I know that seems counterintuitive considering Chuck and Ellie's history with Stephen and I, but please believe neither of us thought it would result in us being gone so long from their lives."

"That's something we can work out once you're home again," Chuck's tone making it clear the topic was closed for the time being.

Sarah had become aware over the past few months of working with all of the Bartowski family that Chuck and Ellie were very much the children of Orion and Frost. Especially when their usual warm and open demeanor was turned reserved and cool like their mother or when they were fixated on their work as their father was inclined to do.

"My time is up," Frost advised, "Keep me apprised of your progress on both fronts."

The Burbank-based trio nodded their understanding before Frost's side of the screen went black. "I must be on my way as well," Stephen added, "Give you some time to do what needs to be done on your end before mounting your operation to Russia."

"We will, Dad," Chuck nodded, and Orion signed off. He then turned to his sister, "I already have a security protocol in place to protect Dad coming by the office. I figured you would eventually try to get him to come in to do your Frankenstein's monster thing."

"You're not funny," Ellie rolled her eyes, "And may I remind you that, had you not opened that stupid email, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"True," Chuck nodded, "But we also wouldn't have the opportunity to save Uncle Hartley and bring our family home again," He pointed out.

"I guess you have a point," Ellie huffed, "And on that point, I want to talk over my theories with you."

Sarah excused herself to do what she could to prepare for their mission to deal with Ryker. She was undecided if she should just capture him or shoot him where he stands. _Why not both?_ Her inner voice questioned, _What was is that Shepherd guy in that show said about kneecaps being a fuzzy area on the scale of right and wrong?_ Sarah smirked and went back to setting up transport and lodging for their trip before calling Casey and asking him to join them at the office for a debrief.

Ellie was leaving Chuck's office just as Casey arrived. A plan was made for a family dinner that night before Chuck, Sarah and Casey left the next day before the women went their separate ways.

"Come on in and take a seat," Chuck smiled at Sarah and nodded to the conference table where Casey now occupied the seat Ellie had recently vacated. "I'm just finishing up the simulations for Ellie's theories, see if any of them get us any closer to our goal." He typed a few more moments and hit enter, "Done!"

"What is this mission you called me in for?" Casey asked, looking between Sarah and Chuck, who had joined them at the table. "I doubt you wanted me to just sit here while the moron typed away on his computer."

Sarah ignored his comment, "Have I ever told you about my mission to Budapest?"

* * *

Dinner had been a comfortable affair, one that had become tradition for the central team of their office prior to engaging in a mission. Alex and Morgan were invited, although Morgan was not informed it was yet another send-off dinner for Chuck, Sarah, and Casey in order to reduce his excitable response.

As it always did, the meal and family time passed a bit too quickly for their liking and soon hugs and wishes of safe travels were exchanges among the Bartowskis, Casey, and Alex before they made their way home.

That night Chuck and Sarah packed before retiring to their bed to make love, the expression made more poignant considering the personal nature of the mission upon which they were to embark the next day. They cuddled together in their post-coital bliss dreaming of what their future might hold and what their next steps would be once their mission objective was successfully completed.

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?" Chuck asked softly, looking down at her.

"Yes," Sarah sighed, "As much as it pains me to say, and as much as I wish things would be different, I think it's the best way of handling this."

"I understand," Chuck sighed, "As much as I hate to say it, I agree with you. We can make the arrangements when we get back."

"Okay," Sarah nodded, snuggling into Chuck's chest, "Chuck?"

"Yeah, Baby?" He hummed.

"Hold me until I fall asleep?" She whispered.

"Always," He promised, pressing a kiss to her lips before he felt her shift.

The both rolled onto their sides, Sarah scooting back to press up against his front in the little spoon position reveling in the feelings of peace and security that being in his arms sparked in hers. She felt him press a kiss to her shoulder and relax on their shared pillow as they both drifted off to as peaceful of a sleep as they could get before their mission.

* * *

Before they set off to meet up with the Strykers, who had once again been pegged as their pilots, at the airfield, Chuck and Sarah stopped at the office to check on the simulations that had been left to run overnight. He emailed the results to Ellie and copied a file to his secure laptop to review as they journeyed eastbound.

Casey and the Strykers met them at the private terminal of the Burbank Airport. After greetings were exchanged and baggage handed off to the ground crew to load up in the hold, they all boarded the plane. In order to get around FAA flight time and duty day regulations, Sarah and Casey would be flying from Burbank to New York-JFK while the Strykers rested in the berth in order to be legal to fly the second leg to London where they would overnight before continuing on to Moscow the next day.

Seeing as he would essentially be alone for the next five hours or so, Chuck set up in one of the chairs by the small conference table. Ted and Elaine took seats on the loveseat nearby and would move into the berth once they were airborne. Casey, who was flying the left seat, called out that the flight plan to JFK was approved and Sarah, having completed the walkaround and check list, closed the boarding door and took the right seat in the cockpit. The chalks were pulled, and the break disengaged and soon they were taxiing to the runway. They had to cede the runway to a couple mainline and regional jets, but soon the turbine engines were spooling up and they shot down the runway and began to climb.

It only took 10 minutes to reach their cruising altitude and the Strykers retired to the berth to get some rest while Chuck pulled out his laptop and began reviewing the data from the most recent removal simulations, a couple had been more successful, but they weren't quite there yet. He connected to the secure inflight Wi-Fi and sent his analysis to his sister to review to see if she agreed with his suggestion to combine a couple of the more successful methods to see if that improved the chances of success. Seeing that he still had a few hours to kill, he headed toward the galley, stopping by the cockpit first to see if Sarah or Casey wanted anything before whipping up a quick snack of sandwiches for the three of them. Having delivered Casey and Sarah's sandwiches and bottles of water, he returned to the seating area to eat his quick meal. He spent the rest of the flight enjoying the most recent issue of Justice League which he'd picked up a couple days before.

About a half hour before they were due to land in JFK, he heard a phone alarm go off from the berth and soon the Strykers emerged, looking well rested, and resumed their seats on the love seat and engaged Chuck in casual conversation as they waited to land. Once on the ground in JFK, Sarah and then Ted did a walk-around while Casey filed his paperwork and Elaine calculated their weight and balance and called in the fuel order. Sarah had called in a commissary order when they were on approach and as soon as it was delivered and Ted had filed his flight plan, they were off again.

Casey prepared and distributed the meals before joining Chuck and Sarah to formulate a basic strategy of attack with the limited information they'd been given. Once plans were made and dinner consumed, Chuck and Sarah retired to the berth to get some sleep while Casey converted one of the seats into a sleeping area and nodded off himself.

They woke with a few hours left of travel and Chuck suggested a movie for entertainment. The credits for "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," rolled just as Elaine announced they were about to make their approach into London. As soon as they were on the ground, the Heathrow VIP service met them planeside, collected their passports and luggage and shuttled them to their private lounge to clear customs and immigration. Nearly an hour later a porter, who identified himself as the resident MI:6 contact, informed them they were cleared and good to go before escorting them to their private transport to the Doubletree where three rooms were reserved for them.

Upon arrival to the hotel, they were surprised to find that the VIP treatment extended to the hotel as they were met by the concierge who greeted them warmly before handing them their room keys. She gave them a brief overview of the services provided at the hotel and how to contact the front desk and room service and confirmed that the VIP service from Heathrow would be arriving the next morning to collect them and escort them through to their departure the next day. As per their directions, all three rooms were on the same floor, but Casey had requested to have at least one room between himself and either one of the couples with whom he was traveling. A porter had unloaded their bags and was waiting for them by the elevators to accompany them to their rooms.

Since there were 3 rooms and 5 sets of luggage to contend with, they assured the porter that he didn't need to unpack them at every room, simply hand them their luggage and move on to the next. The porter looked a little uneasy, as if concerned he would get in trouble for not giving them the VIP treatment, but the large tips he received from the Strykers, Casey, and Sarah and Chuck along with their promise to give him a positive review alleviated his concerns.

The first room was Casey's who gave them a grunt and, claiming his suitcase, disappeared within the confines of his room to not be seen for the rest of the night. The Strykers were in a room across the hall and down a few doors, they thanked the Porter for his assistance, claimed their bags, and bid Chuck and Sarah goodnight. The final room which was at the very end of the hall by the exit stairs was Chuck and Sarah's. The room was well appointed for a midlevel hotel and had a view of the south taxi and runways of the Heathrow airport. Being a pilot, Sarah enjoyed watching the afternoon arrivals touch down, and felt Chuck sidle up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he joined her in the watching.

"So, we have about 16 hours before we take off for Moscow," He kissed her cheek, "Is there anything you want to do while were here?"

"I can think of one thing," She gave him an impish smile over her shoulder.

"I was thinking more sightseeing," Chuck rolled his eyes, "Maybe take the train into the city proper and tour the Globe Theater, see Big Ben, Tower of London, The Eye?"

"You want to do all that, and sleep all in the next 16 hours?" She challenged.

"No," He chuckled, "Maybe pick two or three things and go with that?"

"Are you sure you can handle the Eye?" Sarah asked, "It is the largest ferris wheel in the world and didn't you have a minor freak out on that one at the carnival in college?"

"I knew I shouldn't have told you that story," Chuck groaned slightly, "I should be fine, they are completely enclosed so it should be no worse than being in a glass elevator or an airplane."

"Alright, so let's start with the eye, which will give us a view of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, then we can indulge your inner theatre nerd and check out Shakespeare's Globe before hitting the Tower of London?"

"Sounds good," Chuck agreed, "But maybe we can start with a shower, we essentially took a red eye out of Philly an I don't know about you, but I could use a good freshening up."

"Just to freshen up?" Sarah smirked.

"Well, I wouldn't be opposed to more," He growled against her neck as his lips traced a path from her jaw to her shoulder causing her to shiver against him when he hit an especially sensitive spot. "What do you say?"

"Race ya," She crowed, pulling out of his arms and dashing toward the bathroom, her boyfriend hot on her heels.

"Gotcha!" He grinned triumphantly as he entered the bathroom and wrapped her up in his arms again and began to kiss her, nibbling here and there along her jaw, her throat, and as he freed her from her shirt, her shoulders and collar bone.

Sarah soon joined him in the fun, quickly relieving him of his shirt and jeans and stepping back to shimmy out of her own jeans as he bent to untie his high-top All Stars. When he looked up again, she was standing in front of him in a lacy bra and panty set that did very little in the way of concealment.

"Have you been wearing that the whole time?" He gulped.

"Mmm-hmm," She nodded, grinning at his reaction.

"My God, Jen, that's just not fair," He groaned.

"I think little Charlie begs to differ," She giggled, spotting the way his boxers were beginning to tent up.

"Well, I can't be held responsible for him," Chuck shrugged and watched as she walked over to the shower and started the taps bending over to engage the showerhead.

Seeing the way her barely there lingerie hugged her ass made him groan. "I spoke too soon, now it's just unfair."

"Well, how about I do away with the distraction?" She gave him a cheeky grin as she reached behind her, releasing the closures of her bra and letting it drop to the floor followed by her panties. The way his eyes took in all of her, full of awe, wonder, and above all reverent love and devotion and perhaps the slightest glimmer of lust was so satisfying to her. "Well what are you waiting for, Charlie? Coming?"

Chuck swallowed thickly, "Give me a minute," He watched as she slid the curtain closed and, with a salacious wink, disappeared behind the frosted fabric. He quickly slid off his boxers and joined her a half second later.

* * *

An hour later, after making sure no patch of skin was missed by their soapy hands, they were dressed and ready to head out. They stopped at the concierge's desk and got directions to the Tube and how to get to the London Eye by way of the rail system. There was still snow on the ground, so they bundled up against the winter's chill and headed out into the early London afternoon.

Several hours had passed and the sun had long since set by the time they'd seen the sights they'd hoped to see, got something to eat, and returned to their hotel. They knew that they would have to hit the ground running when they arrived in Moscow and agreed to do away with their usual nocturnal activities, especially after their multiple indulgences in the shower that afternoon and simply get some sleep. Chuck let them in to the room and they quickly changed into their pajamas that they'd laid out for themselves when they'd gotten dressed after their shower.

Chuck wore his normal standby of red plaid pajama pants and a Stanford t-shirt while Sarah had opted for yoga pants in deference to the colder European weather and, much to Chuck's surprise and delight, the Quantum Leap t-shirt he'd worn that first day on Coronado Beach all those years ago. He'd long since grown out of it, but had never been able to part with it, the item holding significant sentimental value to him.

"Oh boy," He whispered.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked, pulling back the covers and sliding into the bed.

"Jen, that's… That's the…" He stammered.

"The shirt you were wearing when you stole my heart?" She finished for him, "I know, now come to bed, Charlie, I need you to keep my feet warm."

"As you wish," He slid into the bed and pulled her close to himself. It didn't take long before the need for rest and the jetlag hit them, pulling them in to a deep satisfying sleep.


	34. Chapter 34

The four-and-a-half-hour flight from Heathrow's VIP terminal to Moscow's Domodedovo Airport was relatively quick, considering the long travel day they'd had that day before. They were met with a representative from the airport who escorted them to the customs and immigration area of the airport, once the Strykers had finished their end of flight paperwork and walk around. They had arrived during a slow time of the day and passed customs with little trouble. Seeing as they didn't wish to attract too much attention, they all quickly changed into more casual, but warm clothing to make them appear more like casual travelers. A short metro ride later had them arriving at the Jazz Hotel about 20 minutes south of the city center. Chuck was impressed by the décor throughout the hotel and kept pointing it out to whomever would listen as he needed out over the art and interest pieces scattered throughout the hotel.

Due to the 3-hour time difference between London and Moscow it was nearing dinner time by the time they checked into their hotel and made their way to their rooms. By mutual agreement, it was decided that the group would drop off their luggage and go get something to eat for dinner before turning in to try to sleep off the jetlag they were already starting to accumulate on the trip.

The next morning, Chuck awoke in his favorite position, playing the big spoon to Sarah. He could feel the coolness that has seeped into the room despite the heater being on in their room, but it was warm under their blankets as the snuggled together. He knew the moment Sarah woke from the subtle shift in her breathing followed by the soft squeak she made when she gave her shoulders a small stretch. He thought it was adorable, but also knew she would deny she even made such a sound in the first place.

"Good morning, Baby," He murmured in her ear and pressed a kiss against the exposed skin of her neck.

"Mmm, morning," Sarah hummed, turning over in her boyfriend's arms and shifting to lay her head on his chest, her body from shoulder to hip pressed against his side, and her leg curled over to tuck between his.

Chuck smiled and kissed her head as he pulled her in closer, reveling in these few moments of peace before they started their day, and mission, in earnest. They lay, snuggled up together for a while longer before Chuck's stomach began to growl.

Sarah snickered, "Well I guess that means we should get up and get dressed for the day. Do you want the shower first?"

"Nah, you go ahead and take the first shower." Chuck shook his head, "That way you can dry your hair and do your girly frou-frou stuff while I'm in the shower."

"'Girly frou-frou stuff?'" She arched an eyebrow at him.

"You know styling your hair, doing your makeup… which you don't need by the way," He met her eyes, "You really can't improve on perfection."

Sarah rolled her eyes, "Nerd," She chuckled and gave him a kiss, "I'm gonna go take my shower."

She slid out of bed and grabbed her toiletries kit before heading toward the bathroom.

"Just save some hot water for me," Chuck called out after her, semi-joking. When Sarah gave him an impish grin, he groaned, "Woman," He jokingly scoffed, "Don't make me come in there!"

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Sarah giggled as she ducked into the bathroom and started the shower.

While Sarah was showering, Chuck slowly pulled himself out of bed and grabbed his suitcase, lifting it up on the bed and opening it, pulling out the clothes he planned to wear that day. Since they were supposed to look like normal people when they went to retrieve their items from the drop, he pulled out some casual clothes and set them aside before snagging his dopp kit and heading into the bathroom.

He could make out the form of his girlfriend through the frosted glass of the shower door as he set down his dopp kit and pulled out his toothbrush and toothpaste.

"Decided to join me after all, did you?" Sarah teased.

"If you aren't done in there by the time I'm done doing my thing out here," Chuck called back, "I mean if you are absolutely insistent on brushing our teeth tandem-style, just let me know and I'll stop what I'm doing to join you."

"Tempting though that might be, I think we both know it would take longer for us to shower together than individually," Sarah snickered, "Plus this shower is a little too small to do what you have in mind. You do your thing and once I'm done in here, we can switch."

"Gotcha," Chuck agreed and turned back to the sink to brush his teeth and shave while Sarah finished her shower. He loved the scents that permeated the warm air from her various beauty products. He'd noticed that she'd switched it up a little bit over the course of their time together, while there was always a scent of vanilla, when the weather turned colder, the scent became warmer with a hint of nutmeg as opposed to the lighter floral scent she'd used when they'd first reconnected. He seemed to remember Ellie doing something similar and chalked it up to a girl thing.

The click of the shower door opening caught his attention as he wiped the last bits of foam from his face and turned to see Sarah tucking her towel around herself. He could still hear the water running in the stall and smiled at Sarah's thoughtfulness. "I left the toothpaste on top of my kit, I couldn't find peppermint last time I went, so I got spearmint, I hope that's okay."

"It's fine," Sarah assured him, lifting up on her toes and pressing a soft kiss to his lips as her fingers danced along his jawline feeling the smoothness of his now whisker-free face. "You know, as nice as this is, I don't mind a little facial hair, if you ever want to change it up."

"Really?" Chuck's eyes widened, "I was thinking about trying it out, just didn't know if you'd like it or be okay with it. And I mean just a little bit, I have no intention of going full beard like Morgan, the beard is his thing."

"While I'm sure that would look good on you, too, I have to agree," Sarah shrugged, "Now go get in the shower while I get all prettified so we can go get breakfast."

"Sounds good," He smiled and stepped by her, quickly divesting himself of the long-sleeved t-shirt and sleep pants he'd worn to bed the previous night and ducked into the warm spray of the shower. He made quick work of shampooing his hair and washing his body as he heard the bathroom door open and close only to open and close again a few moments later. As he rinsed the soap from his hair and body, he heard the hair dryer power up.

Turning off the water and grabbing his towel from the rack next to the cubicle, he quickly dried himself off and wrapped the terrycloth fabric securely around his waist before stepping out onto the mat. Looking over toward where his girlfriend stood, clad in her bra and underwear, he couldn't help but chuckle as he found her not using the hairdryer on her hair, but had it pointed toward the mirror that hung over the sink.

"What are you doing?" He gave her a confused look.

"Unfogging the mirror." She shrugged, moving the appliance in small circles as the foggy glass slowly began to clear in a radial pattern that matched her aim, "While having a hot shower leaves the bathroom warm and comfortable, especially when in such a cold area, it fogs up the mirror. Unfortunately, I need the mirror to be able to see what I'm doing with my hair and makeup."

"You could just pull your hair up in a ponytail and go without makeup," He shrugged only to be met with an incredulous look from his girlfriend, "Or you can defog the mirror and do what you can to improve on perfection."

"Ah, he can be taught!" She teased, "Go get dressed, I shouldn't be too long."

"Where have I heard that before?" Chuck snarked only to gasp as he felt his towel stripped from around his waist followed quickly by a wind breezing near his posterior and the sharp crack that all mischievous kids know as the crack of a wet towel. "You missed."

"Not from where I'm sitting," Sarah giggled, making no effort to hide the fact she was checking out her boyfriend's naked ass.

"I feel so violated!" Chuck gasped in faux shock.

"Just wait until we get back this evening," She gave him a lascivious grin as she casually ran her fingers along the straps and cups of her bra, "I plan to continue violating you all night… and if you're real good, maybe I'll let you have a turn."

"Hey-oh," Chuck gasped, eyes wide.

"Chuck?" Sarah's airy voice got his attention back, "Go get dressed before I take you back to bed and not let you out until the morning."

"See, that's not the threat you think it is." He pointed out.

"Who said it was a threat?" She challenged.

Chuck gulped, "I, uh, I'm gonna go get dressed," and disappeared into the bedroom, the sound of Sarah's laugh echoing off the tile walls.

A half an hour later they were both dressed, Chuck in jeans, a long-sleeved t-shirt, and sweatshirt, snow boots, rather than his usual Chucks on his feet. Over his arm he held both his parka and Sarah's. Sarah had chosen to wear a green, long-sleeved sweaterdress and black leggings. Underneath it all, she wore a long-sleeved t-shirt and stockings all of which were paired with a pair of thick, warm socks, and knee-high boots with a low, chunky heel. Checking once more that they had everything they would need for the day, they headed down to the dining room to get breakfast before heading out.

* * *

Casey was already seated and eating what looked to be a large bowl of oatmeal and drinking hot black coffee when they arrived. The older man seemed to be dressed similarly to Chuck with his jeans tucked into the fur lining of his winter boots, a long-sleeved t-shirt over his thermal underwear, and instead of a sweatshirt he had a thick blue plaid flannel. His parka was slung over the back of his chair as he ate. When the younger couple greeted him, he grunted in his typical Casey-esque fashion and kept eating.

Knowing they wouldn't get much conversation out of him, they dropped off their coats and made their way to the breakfast area to see what was available. It looked to be the typical continental breakfast set up which made it easy to decide on what to get. Sarah opted to have the cook at the omelet station cook her up an omelet with tomato and spinach while Chuck opted for the waffles. Once their hot items were cooked, they grabbed some fruit and coffee before returning to their seats across from Casey.

They ate in silence a few minutes before Sarah spoke up, "Let's go over the plan for today."

"What's there to go over?" Casey grunted, "You and the moron pretend to play tourist, I will shadow."

Sarah rolled her eyes at the older man and turned to her companion. "Chuck are you clear on the plan?"

"Pretty much, you and I will take the metro to the Columbus shopping center. Casey will stalk us from a distance and try to look inconspicuous." Chuck gave the older man a cheeky smirk which was answered by a low growl that was ignored, "At some point we will decide to enjoy the skating rink. We will then deposit our things in locker 74; that way it won't look suspicious when we pick up our dead drop from the same locker. I do have a question about that, wouldn't someone notice if we leave with o more bag than we came in with?"

"Not many people are that observant unless they are suspicious of you," Sarah shrugged, "Besides, I plan to carry a large purse, depending on the size of the dead drop, I can easily slip the items in there or into another shopping bag as we are putting things into or pulling them out of the locker. That way, no extra bag."

"Smart," Chuck nodded, "So, when do we go?"

"Just as soon as we finish our breakfast," Sarah advised, "It will take us a little while to get there and with establishing our cover as a couple on a shopping trip before heading for the dead drop, we should expect to be there for at least a few hours."

"Gotcha," Chuck nodded taking a bite of his waffle. "So, what's our cover?"

"Boyfriend and girlfriend, like usual," Sarah shrugged not understanding the reasoning behind his question.

"No, I mean are we tourists? Or are we locals out for a shopping trip?" Chuck clarified.

Sarah thought about it for a moment before turning to Casey, "What do you think Casey?"

"Eurasia covers," Casey acknowledged, "Bartowski, use your Karol Nowacki ID, Walker, of course is your girlfriend, Sara Laska. I'll have my Ivan Lenkov ID on me, not that you should interact with me unless the excrement hits the rotating oscillator, copy?"

"Gotcha, big guy," Chuck nodded, "Since we are using our Polish aliases, I won't have to rely too heavily on the Intersect. Thank you Jahjah and Babchi!"

Sarah gave him an indulgent smile while Casey rolled his eyes.

"We probably should still speak Russian with those we encounter," Sarah advised, "Although speaking Polish with each other should be fine. Do you have the correct documentation on you?"

"Yeah, I figured we wouldn't be using the Carmichael alias," Chuck shrugged, "My Nowacki was the next likely bet."

Casey used the number 11 grunt, begrudging respect and acknowledgement that the moron really isn't much of a moron after all.

"Chuck, you and I will head out in a few minutes with Casey following about ten minutes after us," Sarah advised, "Do you have any questions before we take off?"

"None, let's do this," He stood and pulled out Sarah's chair for her. Snagging their coats, he assisted Sarah on with hers before shrugging on his own wool trench coat. He wrapped a scarf around his neck and buttoned up his coat before pulling out a pair of leather gloves from the pocket and slipping them on as Sarah did the same. Sarah had opted for a warm knit peaked cap while Chuck had chosen a wool fedora which he carried until they were about to step outside, at which point he slipped it on. He opened the door for this girlfriend and offered his arm to her once they were both outside.

They snuggled together against the cold as they made their way to the Metro station down the block. Once securely in the underground station, Chuck, after engaging the Intersect's Russian Language feature, purchased their tickets for the train and led Sarah to the correct platform. It didn't take long for their train to arrive. Just as they were boarding, they noticed Casey down the platform, boarding the train a couple cars back from theirs. It wasn't more than 20 minutes before the station for the Columbus Shopping Center was announced.

* * *

The trio of American agents blended seamlessly into the crowds traversing the mall. Chuck let Sarah drag him around the mall for a bit, stopping at various boutiques and clothing stores, usually resulting in one or both of them trying on a few items before moving on, occasionally with a new bag or two added to their load. Eventually, they stopped at the food court where Chuck was surprised to find a Subway. After splitting a 500-ruble footlong sandwich, they made their way down to the ice rink where Sarah made a big production of begging Chuck to go skating with her.

"Oh Karol, Zabko, look, they have an ice-skating rink," She exclaimed in Polish, "We haven't gone skating in too long, please may we go?"

"Moja Kochana," He chuckled, "Of course we can go. We're on vacation, aren't we? We can have a little fun, but you can't laugh if I slip and fall."

"I promise," She nodded solemnly.

"Alright, Sara, let's go see about the admission," Karol smiled down at his girlfriend before guiding her toward the entrance of the skating area and paying the admission for them both. They were advised that there was a little over an hour of the free skate time left before the rink was closed down for the Zamboni and lessons. They nodded their understanding and made their way to the skate rental, requesting the sizes they would need and heading to where a few rows of lockers stood. Number 74 was mid-way down the second row, and they made quick work of stashing their bags and shoes, Sarah quickly slipping the burner phones into her purse as she did so, before sitting down and lacing up the boots of their skates.

When they hit the ice, Sarah was off like a shot, speeding around executing spins and turns that would make any Olympian sit up and take notice. Chuck took a little longer to get his bearings but soon was steady enough to join her at the center of the ice rink. While not as good as Sarah was, he was able to hold his own beside her as they played a bit near center ice before rejoining the flow of other skaters to simply skate hand-in-hand around the rink until the announcement was made that the free skate time was over and all skaters would need to clear the ice to make way for the Zamboni.

As with most ice rinks, watching the Zamboni was a much beloved past time that nearly everyone at the rink enjoyed. After watching the large machine return the rink to its glassy, smooth, shine, they went back to locker 74 to retrieve and change into their boots before collecting their bags and outer wear and returned their skates to the rental desk. They poked around in a few more stores to maintain their cover before catching the train back to their hotel.

* * *

Arriving back at the hotel, Sarah handed Chuck the bag his mom had left in the dead drop while she made quick work of unpacking the spoils of their shopping trip. While the shopping was meant to be for cover, she felt she had found several items for both her and Chuck that were worth keeping. She had even managed to find a few clothes that Molly would eventually grow into. Chuck had initially protested when she'd suggested they look at the children's boutique, but she pointed out that, considering the overall goal of the mission, that a little hope could prove beneficial, a point he had happily agreed with and even helped in picking out a couple shirts, including an adorable purple shirt with a large butterfly across the chest that likely wouldn't fit the girl for a few years, but he'd insisted. She smiled softly at the memory as she folded the shirt and gently placed it, along with its counterparts, in her suitcase.

"I still can't believe you insisted on getting that shirt for Molly," Sarah chuckled, zipping the suitcase closed and walking over to the desk where Chuck sat, inventorying the items his mom had left for them. "You know, it's way too big for her, she's only 7 months old, that shirt was made for like a four-year-old."

"She'll grow into it," He shrugged, "Want to see what Mom left us?"

"Sure," Sarah nodded and let herself be pulled into his lap for a kiss before sliding into the seat next to his as he showed her the contents of the bag he'd unpacked.

"Three burners, this one is yours," He pushed a smart phone with a gardenia on the lock screen, "The other is mine. Number two on each phone is the other, three is Casey, and Four is Mom. Just as she said, they are pre-loaded with a tracking app with Orion-level security that not only pings on Ryker's nanobots, but the other burners as well."

"Is she aware we have arrived?" Sarah inquired.

"If she wasn't alerted when we removed the bag from the dead drop, I messaged her secure number to let her know we are here," Chuck nodded, "She already messaged back to let her know if we need 'Babbi' to assist."

"'Babbi?'" Sarah quirked an eyebrow.

"I guess that's how she wants her grandchildren to refer to her," Chuck shrugged, "Regardless, I don't think we should put too much weight on her ability to assist in a pinch. Considering who she 'works' for, she may not be able to get away to assist."

"Understood, but we might want to keep her updated so she can try to keep Volkoff distanced from our op." Sarah agreed with a nod. "Did she leave us anything else?"

"Nothing for this op, she left some of Volkoff's scans for us to deliver to Ellie when we get back stateside," Chuck gestured to the large manilla envelope that lay on the table. "I figure we should get together with Casey after dinner to get his burner to him and start to formulate a plan of action."

"Hey, this is my op," Sarah scoffed teasingly, "Who gave you the lead?"

"Oh, my mistake, Agent Walker," He chuckled, "How do you advise we proceed?"

"Pretty much exactly what you said," Sarah rolled her eyes, "I hate you so much."

"No, you don't," Chuck laughed, pulling her back into his lap.

"No, I don't," She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing a kiss to his lips.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon leading up to dinner, Chuck and Sarah studied the pattern of movement for Ryker since Frost was able to nano chip him. It seemed, thus far he had stayed within the same half-mile radius since his arrival to Moscow. What made their jobs infinitely easier is that he appeared to favor the same café for his meals. All that was left to do was figure out how they would deal with him. While having Casey snipe him seemed a rather unfulfilling option, although it would be a good option as a backup. Torture was very briefly considered and put aside for a couple reasons, they didn't have anywhere to take him, and Sarah didn't feel that particular punishment fit the crime. Poison was a little more intimate, perhaps something that would paralyze him first while keeping him conscious long enough for Sarah to confront him, so he knew who was taking his life and why, before his organs finally succumbed.

By the time dinner time rolled around, they had a rough plan that was shared with Casey over their meal the finer details set and agreed on, contingency plans were put in to place and a time was set. All that was left to do was to put the plan in motion. Once all was settled, they returned to their room to check that they had the proper gear for the operation. That night as Sarah slept, head pillowed on her boyfriend's chest, Chuck reached over to his nightstand and, picking up his burner, typed out a quick message.

"_Operation Valkyrie is go. 1230 hrs. Kafe Tapki._"


	35. Chapter 35

_ "Target confirmed, overwatch in position?"_

_ "Affirmative."_

_ "G__arçon__?"_

_ "Rodger Dodger."_

_ "Shut up, Moron."_

_ "Fine, I'm in position."_

_ "Let the games begin."_

Sarah watched from her vantage point as Ryker made his way to the Kafe Tapki and took a seat by the window. Very soon after, he was approached by a member of the wait staff, a tall young man with dark, curly, hair and an easy smile who greeted Ryker in the local dialect and handed him a menu.

"Dobryy den', how may I serve you?" The young man inquired, pad and paper at the ready.

"I'll have the stroganoff and a black coffee," Ryker spoke without looking at the server, even when he passed the menu to the younger man.

"We'll have that right out for you," The server gave a short nod before taking his leave to deliver the order to the service window. Just as the young man returned with Ryker's meal, Sarah made her way to the Kafe and took a seat across from Ryker who paused, gravy covered noodle halfway to his mouth.

"I bet you're just wondering what I'm doing here, aren't you?" She gave him a knowing smile, "You're wondering how I knew to find you here and are thinking back over the mission reports in my file and asking yourself if I just did to your meal what I did to those French assassins."

"What do you want?" Ryker demanded, setting the uneaten fork of noodles back on his plate.

"I want a great many things," Sarah continued on in a placid tone as she pulled out one of her knives and began playing with it, "Your head on a pike would be a nice start, but sadly the Geneva convention precludes such a thing anymore. Of course, that just means I am forced to be a bit more creative with your punishment for the crimes you have committed."

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Ryker was attempting aloof machismo, but was failing miserably. "If you don't mind, I would like to get back to my meal."

"Fine then, have it your way, we can start with the big ones," Sarah's eyes grew ice cold as she flicked her wrist. The knife that had previously been in her hand now quivered from where it stuck out from the back of his chair, the blade missing his skin by less than a millimeter but he was now stuck to his chair by the blade's trajectory through the layers of his suit jacket and dress shirt. "Murder, attempted murder, attempted abduction of a child…"

"I believe that was you," Ryker pointed out, reaching over to remove the blade which was now embedded in is chair and failing to get it to budge.

"Conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit fraud, larceny, attempted grand larceny…" Sarah continued, "Oh yes and treason. For any one of these I could easily arrest you and have you deported to the United States to stand trial as all of these crimes were done, unsanctioned, while you were still a field agent with the CIA. The murder, and definitely the treason, will earn you a one-way ticket on an express train to Hell. I'd shoot a bullet straight into your head right now if I could, but this is a rather nice place, and I'd rather it not suffer due to a specific member of their clientele."

"And if I refuse to come with you?" Ryker challenged.

"I'm afraid you have no choice." Sarah gave him knowing look as Chuck, in his server's uniform, approached. Sarah smirked slightly at the jolt Ryker gave upon seeing the tall man approach.

Gone was the friendly smile, amiable nature, and warm brown eyes, instead, it seemed the man had added to his already tall frame in the few minutes the conversation with Agent Walker had taken. The man now looked rather intimidating, standing at his full height, his arms crossed over his broad chest, eyes dark, and a determined look on his face.

Sarah did her best to not smile at how Chuck's protective nature came out when it was even suggested that someone was trying to take advantage of her, Molly, or any of their family for that matter. She knew he would do anything to protect them, and with all the training he'd undergone with the CIA and NSA as well as the individualized training she and Casey had put him through, he was fully capable of doing just that, with or without her assistance. She also knew that he would let her take the lead as to how to respond to threats. He was secure enough in his skillset now to hold his own, but not so ego-driven that he did not know when to defer to Casey's or her own expertise.

"You didn't honestly think I would come alone, did you?" She challenged her former handler as a red dot appeared on his upper left chest where it would do the most damage with one shot but also was clearly visible in the rogue agent's periphery. "Let me introduce my team, Agent Charles Carmichael," She gestured with a flick of her wrist to the tall man behind her, "The firefly from hell sitting on your chest is Major John Casey of the NSA, and I, of course, need no further introduction. Do you find the team imposing? It's okay, you can be honest, we're going for imposing."

Ryker stared at her for a moment before speaking, "You did all this for some brat who was born with a silver spoon in their mouth?"

"You had her parents murdered," Sarah pointed out, "And you were going to have her murdered too, and for what? An inheritance that cannot be touched until she is a young adult. I've done my research, no matter how her parents' lives came to an end, she still cannot access it until she is 18 and enrolled in college, or if she decides to not attend college, until she is 21. You got greedy and sloppy and now you are going with us."

"Like hell I am!" Ryker yelled, surging forward, the sleeve of his shirt and jacket tearing away from the blade that held them to the chair. He pushed the table into Sarah to slow her chase and took off, Chuck hot on his heels.

"Walker, I still have eyes on," Casey reminded her, "What's your call?"

"Track but do not fire unless I give the go-ahead." Sarah replied into her comlink, not bothering to disguise the action on the deserted street.

"Rodger, tracking," Casey confirmed only to grunt, "I lost visual!"

Before Sarah could check in with Chuck the sound of a retort a cry of pain came from Ryker.

"Wasn't me, Walker," Casey reported.

"I lost sight of him when he…" They heard Chuck's voice cut out a moment, "Oh my God! Sarah, Casey, I need assistance over here! The target was hit, and is losing a lot of blood, I'm doing what I can to staunch the flow, but it doesn't look good."

"We'll be right there," Sarah responded, "Can you activate the transponder in your watch?"

"Already done," Chuck reported back.

Sarah activated the tracker on Chuck's watch and checked that his burner phone was in the same location before carefully making her way down the block to where Ryker was hit. She had just rounded the corner to find her boyfriend, gloves and jacket sleeves saturated in blood as he used his scarf to try to stop the bleeding, when another voice came over the line, "No need to rush, Mama Bear, target has been eliminated."

"Mom?" Chuck gasped into the com at the same time that Sarah and Casey asked "Frost?"

"I just couldn't let him go and run the risk of him going after any of my children and grandbabies." Mary shrugged from her sniper's nest in a nearby apartment building. "I already took care of the few remaining members of his crew, they wound up working for Volkoff, were sent on a mission to Ukraine and 'disappeared.'"

"Why do I get the feeling you disappeared them?" Chuck grumbled.

"Perhaps because I did," Mary's tone was light, "I know Ryker being dead means he can't be charged for his crimes, but this way prevents him from ever coming after our family again."

"You really shouldn't have done that," Chuck chided, "That was Sarah's call to make. We appreciate the assist regardless. I knew the moment he ran that Casey would have to put him down."

"Rodger that, Babbi out!" Came Mary's terse reply before her voice disappeared from coms.

Chuck checked Ryker's pulse again and felt nothing. He continued to put pressure on Ryker's wounds while Sarah worked frantically to get an ambulance to their location as she gave the man CPR.

"Damn it! Where's that ambulance?" She demanded.

"Sarah," Chuck's soft voice caught her attention, "He's gone, probably before either of us got here."

"Your mom jumped the gun," Sarah sighed.

"Is it still considered jumping the gun when you're the one holding it?" Chuck inquired only to be met with a flat look from his girlfriend, "Right, not the time for such an observation."

"There's never a time to bring up that observation," Sarah responded pointedly. "We need to call in the cleaners."

"Already done," Casey informed them, rounding the corner to the roadway where Ryker had fallen and taken his final breaths. "The paramedic unit who is responding is one of ours." He noticed the ambulance and a couple dark SUV's pull up, "Why don't you have someone take you back to the hotel to clean up? I've got this from here."

"Alright," Sarah nodded, exhaustion clear in her voice.

"Thanks, Big Guy," Chuck gave Casey a smile and nearly clapped him on the back only to pause when he realized the action was not a good idea for a plethora of reasons, the primary ones being that his hands were covered in blood that was not his own and that anyone who dare touch Casey should be prepared to pull back a bloody stump, and there was already too much blood spilt that afternoon.

An agent greeted them and offered them clean gloves and coats along with trash bags into which they could put their soiled items. Once they had changed their outerwear, they climbed into the back of the SUV to be driven back to their hotel. Sarah nearly falling asleep, her head on Chuck's shoulder as exhaustion and relief washed over her. She was safe, Molly was safe… they could now move on with their lives. She closed her eyes to rest for just a moment only to feel the sensation of Chuck shaking her while whispering in her ear that they had arrived at the hotel.

They took turns under the warm spray of the shower and settled into bed, wrapped up in each other's arms.

"So, where do we go from here?" Chuck asked, "Ryker is no longer an issue, Molly is safe…"

"I know we could bring her home now," Sarah sighed, snuggled up against Chuck's chest, "But as much as I would love to do that, I am standing by my decision to wait until the Volkoff situation is over and done with. I don't want her being used as a bargaining chip."

"Okay," Chuck kissed her head, "She's your daughter, it's your decision."

"No," Sarah sat up enough to look him in his beautiful hazel eyes, "It's _our_ decision. You are going to be her father, after all… that is if you want to be." She ended with a shy smile and a slight blush.

The smile on Chuck's face could have lit all of the LA Metro area, "Oh, I want," He nodded eagerly, "But only if her mother is part of the deal."

"I think that can be arranged," Sarah gave him a playful smile and a peck on the lips.

"Is that all I merit, a quick peck on the lips?" Chuck teased.

"Did you have something better in mind?" She purred in his ear and was met with a boyish smile and a nod from her boyfriend, "Why don't you show me?"

"As you wish," Chuck flipped them over until Sarah was resting beneath him as he pressed soft kisses on her lips, along her jaw and down her neck, his arms encircling her in his warm embrace.

Soon, Chuck's ministrations grew more passionate as his hands began to move along Sarah's sides until they worked their way up under her sleep shirt which was soon pulled up and over her head and discarded randomly. His kisses began to slowly move south, tasting one breast and then the other in a concentrated effort to capture their unique flavor before continuing down her stomach to the waistline of her pajama pants.

"Uh-uh," Sarah shook her head, pulling him up level with her once more as she removed his shirt, letting her fingers tangle in the hair that covered his chest, "Now we're even."

"You want a level playing field, huh?" Chuck laughed lightly before levering himself up and sliding off the bed, enjoying the slight moan of frustration that his girlfriend let slip from her lips. He quickly dropped his sleep pants and removed hers before climbing back into the bed and pulling the covers up over them, "Now that everything is equal, may I continue?"

"Please do," She smiled at him as he slid lower beneath the covers and her eyes closed at his ministrations. The things the man could do with just his mouth and hands were awe inspiring, and that was just the warmup. Just when she thought she was about to shake apart from pleasure, he joined with her as they made love long into the night.

Since they were already traveling with their pilots, the travel arrangements to return to Burbank were easy to secure, they just had to make arrangements at the airports where they would need to stop for fuel and rest, and set up lodging for their overnight stay in London. A little more than two days after Ryker had been eliminated, their plane had landed and was taxiing to the private terminal at the Burbank Airport.

It had been a long travel day and all any one of them wanted to do was get some sleep. They all went their separate ways to enjoy the first of, hopefully, many nights to follow in their own beds. Chuck and Sarah, especially, wanted to make sure they got sufficient rest. They had plans to travel up to Elk Grove, just outside of Sacramento, the next day. They were both excited and nervous as to the impact this trip would have on their lives, in the present and the future.

It had been at the same time the easiest and hardest decision they'd had to make thus far as a couple. They'd spent hours on the plan ride from London to Philadelphia discussing it and had eventually agreed it was a step in the right direction.

They would be meeting their daughter, Chuck for the first time, and Sarah for the first time since she'd dropped the girl off with her mother several months before. In some ways the threat of Volkoff helped, since they couldn't bring Molly home yet, but with Ryker no longer an issue, they were free to visit the girl when they could. In the long run, it would hopefully be helpful in reducing any potential stress or trauma on Molly when the time came to officially transition her from her grandmother's home to living with her parents.

Arriving at their condo, they showered and got into their pajamas. Sarah unpacked the suitcases and Chuck gathered their clothes to toss them in the washing machine. As soon as the laundry had been transferred to the dryer and the machine started, he joined Sarah in bed.

"I am so tired, but I don't know if I'll be able to sleep," Sarah murmured, snuggling into Chuck's arms.

"Anxious?" Chuck hummed, pulling her closer.

"Yeah, what if she hates me?" Sarah asked.

"She won't hate you," Chuck assured her, "It may take a little while for her to be fully comfortable with you, with us, but you are amazing. She's very lucky to have you as a mom. When she's older, and able to understand everything that had to happen so that she could be home with us, I have no doubt she'll know how truly cherished she is."

Sarah lay on his chest, letting his words sink in as she enjoyed the rumble of his voice as he spoke, vibrating against her cheek and ear. "How do you always know the right thing to say to put me at ease?"

"Unadulterated luck," Chuck shrugged, "I speak from the heart, our brains mess things up more often than not."

"I'm still nervous about seeing her again," Sarah sighed.

"Me too," Chuck agreed, pressing a soft kiss to her heard, "But any sane, rational, person would be when starting that journey to grow their family by adding a child."

"It kinda feels like we're doing this inside out and backwards," She murmured.

"A quick trip to Vegas could easily rectify that," Chuck offered, "It's not ideal, but it would get the job done."

"Are you proposing?" Sarah teased.

"No, that would require a DeLorean, a white steed, and a Maserati," Chuck shook his head, "I may need to update that plan from the one I drew up when I was twelve, though. Either way, you'll definitely know when I propose to you. That being said, I'm kind of nervous about when that time comes."

"You shouldn't be," Sarah shifted to look into his eyes, "I have it on good authority the response would be a positive one."

"Good to know," He gave her an abbreviated version of his knee melting, toe curling, smile, "Now try to get some sleep, we have a long trip ahead of us in the morning."

"Okay," Sarah agreed, laying back down, "But I may need you to hold me so that I can sleep."

"As you wish," His low voice sent shivers of warmth over her body as he wrapped his arms around her once more, giving her a moment to find a comfortable position before they drifted off to sleep.


	36. Chapter 36

Sarah was pacing the floor of their room as Chuck finished packing his bag and zipped it closed. "Nervous?" He gave her a knowing look.

"Yes," Sarah admitted, "I shouldn't be though, I mean I'm a spy, nothing should scare me, right? So what if I don't know how to be a mom? I'll learn, right? I mean you have already proven you're amazing with kids, so it's not like I'm alone in this. And it's not like we're taking her home today, we still have work to finish before we can do that. This is just a familiarization trip so she can meet you and get to know us. She's already met me, and she seemed okay with me once I was able to calm her down after all the chaos that surrounded us as I rescued her." Her hands waved frenetically as she continued to pace, unaware of the amused look on Chuck's face as he watched her spiral in spectacular fashion, "…But what if she doesn't remember me? What if all this time away has made it so that she'll only accept my mom as her mom? What if we can't form a bond, I mean, isn't that necessary for what we're trying to do..."

"Baby," Chuck stepped in front of her pulling her into his arms and holding her until he felt her start to relax, "Take a breath. It's going to be okay; whatever problems that we run into, and I'm not saying there will be any, we'll figure it out, together. We got this. Like you said, this is just a visit so she can meet me and so she can see you again. She had no issues bonding with you before, I see no reason that won't still hold true now."

"But what if she thinks my mom is her mom?" Sarah asked quietly against his shoulder.

"That I can't answer," Chuck sighed, "But she's so young now, she may be able to adapt quickly, especially considering your already established relationship with her."

"Maybe," Sarah shrugged.

"There's no way to know for sure until we're there, so let's not borrow trouble for things that may not even be an issue in the long run," He advised pulling back slightly so that he could look into her eyes, "So what do you say we load up the bags in the trunk and head out. We should hit the road soon if we want to make it there by this afternoon."

"Yeah, okay," Sarah took a deep breath and nodded before meeting Chuck's eyes once more, "Thanks for talking me down off that ledge."

"All part of the Chuck Bartowski experience," He kissed her forehead, "I do have to say that was an impressive, and I mean Bartowski-level, spiral you were on there. Rivaling some of Ellie and my own spirals. We'll make a Bartowski of you yet."

"Here's hoping," She smiled up at him. A few minutes later, their bags were stowed in the back of the small SUV they'd rented for the trip, "Ready to go meet our little girl?"

"As ready as I can get without a nine-month wait," He smirked as he put the car in drive and pulled out onto the street heading toward the I-5, "But with any luck, we'll experience that at least once as well."

"Wait, you want more kids?" Sarah's eyes widened as she looked over at him from the passenger seat.

"Let's just worry about Molly for now," Chuck soothed her concern, "But yeah, I'd be open to more when the time is right. I mean, I had Ellie growing up and I always imagined my own kids having a sibling or two to grow up with as well."

"It was always just me and Dad," She shrugged, "There were more than a few times I was left on my own, sometimes for days at a time, when he worked a con. I guess it would have been nice to have someone else there to hang out with during those times. I supposed I'd be open to it too, someday, but you're right; Molly needs to be our priority for a while."

They both knew that, despite their brief discussion in the car, the conversation was far from over and would be picked up from time to time throughout their relationship. They were both excited to see Molly and get to know her and passed the time talking about her interspersed with listening to music on Chuck's smartphone. Since the drive would take about five or six hours, Chuck would drive the first leg then they would stop and get something to eat before Sarah took over to finish out the road trip to Elk Grove.

"Your mom knows we're coming, right?" Chuck had checked when they stopped for lunch at a café that looked out over a bluff and had a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean.

"Yeah, I called her last night and again to update her on our ETA when you were in the restroom." Sarah nodded.

"I bet she's excited to see you," He smiled at her as he nibbled on the kettle chips that had come with his Ruben sandwich.

"She is," Sarah smiled, "I am too, I've missed her. When I dropped Molly off with her before being assigned to your protection detail, it was the first time in about 15 years that I'd seen her in person. I'd talked to her very sparingly growing up. We lost track of each other about six years ago when I was recruited to the CIA, that was my fault. I'd had to get rid of the burner phone I'd secretly bought behind my father's back and got a new agency phone, but I remembered her number. Molly was the perfect excuse to reach out to her again, I'm glad I did. I didn't realize how much I needed her, missed her, until I heard her voice from half a world away."

"I'm glad you two got back into contact," Chuck smiled at her, "Not only because it gave Molly a safe, loving, home to stay in until you could come back for her. I'm excited to meet her. Any woman who birthed and raised the amazing Sarah Walker has got to be pretty damned special in her own right."

"I ran away with Dad when I was nine," Sarah pointed out.

"Still, she was there for you for half your childhood," Chuck countered, "You can't deny she didn't have an impact on you, especially since it was her you turned to when you needed help with Molly."

Sarah sighed, "How is it that you always know the right thing to say?"

"Luck?" He chuckled, "Honestly, I just tell it how I see it. Ellie taught me to always speak from the heart; I don't know how to do anything else."

"Remind me to thank Ellie when we get home," Sarah gave him a soft smile, "She raised an amazing man, I am so lucky to have you in my life."

"Imagine how I feel," Chuck grinned, "I have the honor of being able to love the most awe-inspiring, awesome, kickass ninja spy girl, who is not only so smart that I'm surprised she gives me the time of day but has this innate beauty that shines from the inside out. You had it when you were sixteen, and it has only amplified over the past decade."

Sarah blushed at his compliment, "You're ridiculous."

"No, I'm in rapture of you," The love that shone on his face overwhelmed Sarah and warmed her from the inside out.

"Nerd," She teased softly, "Finish your lunch, we have to get back on the road soon if we're going to make good time."

"Okay," Chuck nodded, popping a few more chips in his mouth then taking a long swig from his drink before clearing their table.

Sarah pulled on her coat as she watched Chuck carry their wrappers, cups, and napkins to the trash and deposit the baskets their meals had come in on a shelf above the bin before returning and shrugging on his own coat.

"Ready to go?" She asked.

"Let's go," He smiled and led her out to the SUV where he unlocked the door and held it open for her to climb into the driver's side before handing her the keys and walking around to the passenger seat to climb in himself.

Much to Sarah's surprise, once they were back on the interstate, Chuck reached over to where her hand was resting on the gear shift and took her hand in his, his thumb tracing small circles over the back of her hand. She hadn't realized the tension she still carried until she felt it ebb out of her at his gentle ministrations. Looking over, she saw him, a warm smile on his face, and she was finally able to relax for the last couple hours of their trip.

Before they knew it, they were pulling up in front of a white house with a red door and a picket fence that framed the front yard. They took a moment to silently communicate love and support with each other before exiting the car and making their way, hand-in-hand, to the front door of Sarah's childhood home.

Chuck gave Sarah's hand a comforting squeeze and patiently waited for her to take a calming breath and knock on the door. A few moments later the door was opened to reveal an older woman just a little younger than Chuck's own mother with shoulder length blonde hair, the few light grey hairs mixed in with her natural pale shade the only indicator of her age. She had the same light eyes and coloring as her daughter and was a few inches shorter than Sarah's 5'9" frame. If that wasn't enough proof that the two women were related, the smile that graced her lips was a near identical match to the one he saw every day from the woman he loved.

"Sarah," The woman beamed and pulled her daughter into her arms for a hug that was only slightly less strong than Ellie's, "Oh, Sweetheart, I'm so glad you're here."

"Hi, Mom," Sarah gave in to her mother's embrace, her free arm wrapping around her mother's back while her other hand stayed securely ensconced in Chuck's.

The women continued to hold tightly to each other a moment more before the older of the two slowly released her hold and stepped back, wiping stray tears from her face. It was then that it seemed she finally noticed the man who stood next to her daughter, holding her hand and love that shown on his face when he looked at the younger woman was all she'd ever wanted for her daughter. She had a feeling that someday this man might very well show up on her doorstep, a box in his pocket, and a request for her blessing on his lips. She also knew, by the amorous look that her daughter echoed back at her companion, that there was no question that, if he were to ask, she wouldn't hesitate to accept his proposal.

"Sarah, are you going to introduce us?" She prompted.

A look of understanding overtook the younger woman's face, "Oh right," She smiled sheepishly, "Mom, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Chuck Bartowski. Chuck this is my mom Emma Monroe."

"It's so nice to finally meet you," Chuck offered his hand, a warm smile on his face.

"Put that hand away," Emma laughed, lightly slapping his hand away and pulling him down to her in a motherly embrace, "Thank you," She whispered in his ear, "Thank you for loving my baby."

"She makes it easy," He whispered back as the hug ended, "I honestly have never had a choice in the matter, not when I was 18 and not now."

Emma sent a knowing look to her daughter before stepping back and inviting them into her home, "Come on in, let me take your coats."

"Where's Molly?" Sarah inquired looking around as she shrugged off her coat.

"Upstairs," Emma nodded toward the staircase, "She should be up from her nap soon." Almost as if on queue, they heard a soft whimper from the second floor. Emma turned, but was stopped by Sarah.

"I'll get her," Sarah assured her before heading up the stairs. Opening the door revealed her old bedroom, still decorated in soft blue with fluffy white clouds painted as if floating through a serene sky. In addition to the white metal day bed that was hers as a young girl there was a crib painted white with a soft blue blanket hung over the side of the rail. Stepping closer to the crib, she peered in to see Molly, who had nearly doubled her size since she had been the last time she'd seen her, all those months ago.

"Hey Baby," Sarah cooed, smiling as the girl's soft whimpers quieted and two pairs of bright blue eyes met, and it was abundantly clear that Molly knew who she was. The baby immediately reached out to be picked up and as soon as Sarah obliged, nuzzling into her shoulder. Sarah held her little girl tight and was surprised when she felt tears start to flow silently down her cheeks.

"Oh, Sweetheart, I've missed you," She choked out through the tears of joy, love, relief, and a million other emotions overwhelmed her as she paced the room, reveling in the feel of holding her daughter for the first time since she left the girl with her grandmother.

She didn't know how long she stayed in that room, holding her baby girl, hot tears tracing wet lines down her cheeks, but eventually she heard the soft whisper of the door moving over the carpet that indicated that they were no longer alone. She heard her name spoken by a familiar warm voice as a large, comforting hand found its natural place at the small of her back its thumb tracing soothing circles from where it rested.

"Did Mom send you to come get me?" She asked softly, relaxing into his touch.

"No, I offered to come up and let you know she was about to start dinner," Chuck explained.

Sarah nodded her understanding, still rocking from foot to foot in the way that comes natural to parents when holding their children. She slowly lifted her face to look up at the man who had not only stolen her heart in high school but kept it safe until she came back to him again. The feel of his thumb on her cheek's wiping away the tears that still remained, sent shivers down her spine and a smile to her lips. "Do you want to meet your daughter?" She asked quietly.

Chuck nodded his assent as he let her transfer the baby into his arms and their daughter met his eyes for the first time. The sight of Chuck holding their daughter, the paternal affection, protection, and love that flowed out of him nearly undid her. In all her life, she had never seen anything as beautiful and awe-inspiring as this man holding his daughter for the first time. I didn't matter that she wasn't borne of their flesh, she was theirs, she was always meant to be theirs, and there was nothing more right than the sight before her.

"Chuck, meet Amalia Lisa Novak, our daughter," She smiled up at him with watery eyes.

"Hi, Sweet-Pea," Chuck cooed at the girl, "I know I'm only just meeting you, but I've loved you from the moment your Mommy told me about you. If nothing else know this, you are so incredibly loved, Little One. Your Mommy and Babbi literally killed to protect you. Your Grammy and Papa have kept you safe and far away from those who mean you harm. Your Auntie Ellie and Uncle Awesome can't wait you meet you. I will do anything to make sure you are safe, and loved, and protected." He drifted the finger of his free hand over her cheek, "And let's not forget your first parents who died for you, don't you worry, Little One, we won't ever let you forget about them and their sacrifice that led you to coming home to us."

Looking over at Sarah, he reached out his free arm and pulled her into his side as they focused on their little girl. They were so absorbed in their little family, they didn't notice Emma in the doorway, wiping the tears from her eyes. Even if Sarah hadn't said it that night she showed up on Emma's door step, Molly in her arms, begging her to take care of the infant, she always knew that she'd already accepted that she was Molly's mom, and it was only a matter of time before she returned to take the girl home for good.

The sound of the front door opening and closing broke Emma from her reverie as she returned back down the stairs to greet her husband. A few moments later, they were joined by Sarah, Chuck, and their daughter.

Much to Chuck and Sarah's relief, Emma's husband, Bill, was a warm and affectionate man who had truly embraced his role as Molly's grandfather. After their dinner, the family had retired to the living room to get to know one another better. As Emma and Sarah relaxed with glasses of wine, Bill stood up and gestured to Chuck to follow him.

"Let me show you something," Bill gave Chuck a smirk as he did a spot on impression of Jim Carey's In Living Color Character, causing the younger man to laugh quietly, mindful to not startle the little girl who had, once again, found herself in his arms. Bill led Chuck into the kitchen where the older man gave his stepdaughter's significant other instruction on how to make the perfect evening bottle for Molly.

Bill was pleased that Chuck was a quick study and willing to learn. As the younger man held the bottle for the infant who drank greedily, Bill indicated that the stop in the kitchen was only a short detour on the way to their final destination. When they got to the den, Bill indicated for Chuck to take a seat on the small leather sofa.

"Chuck, I know this might seem a little odd considering I haven't known her for very long," Bill made himself comfortable on a nearby easy chair, "But you and Sarah seem pretty serious for not being together for very long."

"I know that's how it might appear to many," Chuck shrugged, "But I've loved her since I was 18 years old. We met in high school nearly 10 years ago but lost track of each other when her other dad was arrested. I'm not sure how much you know about Sarah now…"

"Her mother told me what her real job is," Bill nodded.

"In any event, her job and former partner's actions, allowed her to find me again," Chuck smiled, noticed the bottle in his hand was now empty and lifting Molly and a burp rag to his shoulder. He rubbed and patted the little girl's back as he continued to speak. "There was never any doubt that she was, and is, 'it' for me."

"How do you feel about her having a daughter?" Bill pressed.

"I was both surprised and not at all when I found out," Chuck paused to wipe a bit of spit-up off of Molly's chin as he spoke, "I mean, I'd always hoped she and I would someday find each other again, have a family… I didn't expect her to have a kid going into it. But I also know Sarah and there is no way she could leave a child to die or be taken advantage of, so the fact she took Molly in doesn't surprise me in the least. She likes to take care of those she cares for. Did you know that she's the reason I have my degree now?" He paused as Bill shook his head before explaining Sarah's involvement in helping him get his degree and the offers that Stanford gave him.

"So, you're thinking about taking up Stanford on their offers?" Bill asked. "What would Sarah do?"

"Yes, I am, we are, have been even before we realized how close you and Emma live to Palo Alto." Chuck nodded, "Not only would it make transitioning to living with us easier on Molly, but the position comes with housing in Professorville, which is a very safe area, good place to grow up."

"Well, I can't argue with that," Bill admitted.

"It also would mean that we would retire from field service," Chuck smiled softly at the older man. "The professor who conspired with my former roommate to get me expelled a few years back was also a recruiter for the CIA. Theoretically, Sarah and I would be taking over for him on campus. I'd teach and if anyone might make a good candidate to join the agency, I'd pass their name on to Sarah, who would then work with me to determine if any of them were suitable for the agency."

"But you wouldn't be active field agents?" Bill checked.

"Right," Chuck nodded.

"Why don't you retire now?" Bill asked.

"We would if we could," Chuck shrugged, "But we are in the middle of two high priority cases that are interwoven and have gone with out a resolution for far too long. We need to see them through to their conclusion."

"Sounds personal," Bill observed.

"It is," Chuck nodded, "But the whole thing is so classified I probably shouldn't have even told you what I did."

"I can understand that," Bill nodded, "A long time ago, before I joined the Fire Department, I was in the Air Force, a PJ, if you can believe it. I understand a little something about operational security, so I won't pester you for details you can't give."

"I appreciate that," Chuck gave the man a grateful smile. "I know taking care of an infant was not what you signed on for when you married Emma, but we so appreciate the two of you taking care of her until we can bring her home permanently… we just hope it's sooner rather than later."

"No thanks necessary," Bill waved him off, "Any grandparent who is physically able and worth their salt wouldn't hesitate to take their grandchild in, especially if said grandchild's parents are in a potentially dangerous profession."

"We promise it won't be forever," Chuck assured the older man, "We are so close to wrapping the operation up, I can taste it. Our last mission not only secured Molly's safety, but it brought us a little closer to the end of our ongoing cases."

"I'm not going to ask how long you are projecting for your operation to wrap up, I know that there is truly no way to tell these things," The older man gave Chuck a comforting smile, "All I ask is that you do your best to keep your team, and yourself, safe."

"I'll do my best," Chuck nodded as he held a now dozing Molly, "And if I fall short, we have a couple highly skilled doctors attached to our team that I trust with my life, and the lives of my team. Even if there were multiple times I may have intentionally and unintentionally provoked one of them to the point where they were tempted to kill me," He chuckled before noticing Bill's confused expression and explaining, "One of the doctors is my older sister, this whole operation is very much a family thing for us."

"I see," Bill nodded, "Now I get why you are so eager to wrap thing up. I wish you luck with that."

"Thank you, Bill," Chuck nodded.

"Now that all that's settled, why don't we go see what our better halves are up to?" Bill suggested, "I seem to remember something about blueberry filled pierogi."

"That sounds amazing," Chuck nearly drooled at the thought, "My babbi used to make the best jagodowe, but she passed before she could teach my sister how to make it, or any other kind of pierogi for that matter."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Bill asked, rising from his seat, and waiting for the younger man to join him in heading toward the kitchen from where they could smell the sweet treat cooking.

When they got to the kitchen, they were told that the pierogi would be ready in a few minutes. Considering the hour, Chuck and Sarah excused themselves to put Molly down for the night. As Sarah ducked into the bathroom to wash the flour and filling off her hands, Chuck made quick work of stripping Molly down and changing her diaper. By then, Sarah had joined him in Molly's room and got the sleepy infant into her pajamas before settling in the rocking chair to rock the little girl all the way to sleep. A few minutes and a couple soft kisses later, the girl was sound a sleep in her crib and the new parents were grabbing the monitor and softly closing the door behind them as the slipped out of the room and down the stairs.

The four adults settled in the dining room with their sweet dessert and some decaf coffee as they continued to get to know one another. Before long, the day began to catch up with all of them, Emma showed them where the guest room was, between the stairs and Molly's room, and informed them that the room she shared with her husband was clear at the other end of the hall. She bid them good night before heading off to bed herself. Chuck and Sarah quickly changed into their pajamas, but before settling down for the night, they wanted to check on Molly, despite the fact the monitor they'd had with them all night had been silent save for the soft breathing of the infant and the occasional snuffle. The seven-month-old looked so peaceful as she dosed in her crib, her doting mother and Chuck, who was determined to fill the role of her father, looking on, falling more in love with the little girl as each second passed.

The large yawn from Sarah was what finally got them heading back to their room. Placing the monitor on Sarah's bedside table, the couple climbed under the covers and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
